“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions” (Matthew 19:21-22).

The problem is not possessions.

Americans have enjoyed riches beyond what most people around the world and throughout human history have only dreamed about.

The problem is not possessions.

The problem is when possessions possess us instead of us using possessions as an instrument and tool of blessing for the Kingdom of God.

In the context of the above verse, the young man claims that he has kept all the laws of God and Jesus never refutes that.

• “You shall not murder”
• “You shall not commit adultery”
• “You shall not steal”
• “You shall not bear false witness”
• “Honor your father and mother”
• “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”

That is astonishing! This is the picture of an ideal follower of God.

But notice what is missing from the list of the Ten Commandments:

• “You shall have no other gods before me”
• “You shall not make yourself an idol”
• “You shall not make wrongful use of of the LORD your God”
• “Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy”

The young man was an ideal citizen, but he was not a follower of God. His god, his idol was his possessions. When possessions dictate how you manage and use your possessions, possessions are your god. And, that was Jesus’ point.

When we get this wrong, possessions and riches become a curse rather than a blessing.

The issue is not possessions. The issue is does God get to call the shots in how you use possessions, or does possessions dictate how you give to God and God’s causes?

Friends, even in the midst of covid, the reality is we are more endowed with wealth than most people around the world dream of. During this season of Thanksgiving, are we able to lay our wealth and possessions before God so that God can use wealth and possessions for his Kingdom? Or does our wealth and possessions dictate how much and what we give to God?

The problem is not possessions. The issue has to do with the placement of wealth and possessions in relation to God.

Wealth and possessions are a blessing when we steward and manage all that God has entrusted to us for his purposes.

God has no problems with rich Christians. In fact, God wants his riches in the hands of those who will steward and manage God’s riches for his Kingdom. Let us be such people.

The first place this impacts is in tithing. Giving to God ten percent is a symbolic act that demonstrates riches do not possess us.

This is the season of Thanks. Let us give thanks to God for his many blessings.

“But in humility regard others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

Of course there’s a long line of cars at the Starbucks drive through.

Ugh.

Come on. If you would just pull up a little more I can get my order in.

Ever been there before?

And then, to make things even more irritating, after getting her coffee, she took extra time to put money on her Starbucks account. She had to get her cash from her purse then get her phone to scan the app again. I was thinking not nice things about the person in front of me.

Finally! She was done with her transaction and drove off.

I opened up my Starbucks app to pay for my order when the drive through cashier told me the lady in front of me paid for my entire order! Normally, when I go to Starbucks I order the drip coffee. But that day, I went to Starbucks for my family. We ordered a lot. The reason why the lady had to put extra money on her account was because of my order.

Ugh! I felt like such an idiot!

Here was the pastor Christian guy, the guy who’s supposed to be practicing peace and kindness. And instead was thinking ill thoughts of a total stranger who went out of her way to be kind to me.

So, dear lady who was in the car ahead of me at the Starbucks drive through…I am sorry for making snap judgments about you. Thank you for your kindness and teaching me the valuable lesson of not making quick judgments and about being kind. I want you to know that your kindness taught me to be kind toward others. Thank you for setting such a fantastic example for this pastor Christian guy.

Oh. P.S. I paid forward your kindness. I paid for the car behind me.

God, forgive me. Forgive my snap judgments. And please bless the lady that was in the car ahead of me.

“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

There are lots of things I learned from a quadruple bypass open heart surgery.

1. It really hurts when they splay you open in half
2. I wouldn’t recommend it
3. Recovery takes a long time
4. Cheeseburgers are yummy. And, cheeseburgers are not good for heart health

The biggest truth I learned from open heart surgery is a spiritual one.

There was one particular day when the post-op pain was so severe, I cried tears. I don’t normally cry. But that day, the pain was so constant, and I was having trouble breathing as I had been panting for a day because I couldn’t get air in my lungs.

The doctors and nurses told me I would be feeling better in twenty-four hours. Every second seemed to last an eternity.

I had a major “woe is me” pity party. I was only thirty-eight. This wasn’t supposed to happen to me. In the yearly physical just a few months prior, the doctor told me I was borderline diabetic and hypertension. The doc had said I was healthy but could lose a few more pounds and exercise more. That’s what thirty-eight year olds are supposed to hear on their annual physicals.

But here I was sitting in the hospital room crying. Because everything was so miserable.

One of the things the hospitals do to help patients recover quickly is to make them walk. The first walk they made me take was just five hours after surgery!

As I walked the hallways I discovered a spiritual truth: the people around me were facing a much harder reality than me. I was going to recover. I was going to get out of there. There were others in rooms right next to me who weren’t going to make it. As I realized what was happening around me, I began praying for the patients and the families gathered in rooms where people were not going to make it.

The spiritual lesson I learned was that when I get my eyes off myself and start seeing the people around me my pain eases. You see, God didn’t give us life to be lived from the perspective of me. God gives us the gift of life so that we can be a blessing to others. It’s when we can bless others that we can truly be happy.

This covid season stinks. There are a lot of people struggling and hurting. If you focus on you, you will go down the never-ending rabbit trail of “woe is me.” Take your eyes off yourself and start looking at the people around you. There are people all over who are hurting around you. Be a blessing today. And as you begin to really “see” the people around you, you’re going to discover your joy in serving others.

“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).