The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted he will show you a way out so that you can endure.  I Corinthians 10:13

There’s an App for absolutely everything today! And there is email and text messaging and social media…the time-tested TV ad… all proven ways to share great ideas about how we should spend our hard-earned cash.

• There’s the three-day sale with a count-down clock (which typically is extended just before expiration).
• Coupons that offer a percentage off your bill but only after you spend X amount of dollars and do it within a future window of short duration.
• Everyone has a rewards program….spend more, earn more.
• Then there are shopping channels, a salesperson right in your own living room tempting you with gadgets that will make your life easier.
• The never-ending ads promise rapid weight loss, cures for anything that ails you, cars you can’t afford, and home décor suggestions that will break most personal banks.
• Constant notifications that time is running out on this very special offer.
• Even snail mail is fair game to initiate trade-in offers for everything from tech devices to cars.

ALL FEEDING OUR NEED TO SHOP and, lest we forget, all these things will rot and decay over time unless they become outdated first! What we once thought was treasure will become trash.

Our culture is focused on ‘net worth.’ We’re always afraid of running out….remember the immediate depletion of toilet tissue when the COVID pandemic was declared? We panic when our physical and emotional security are threatened, so we buy more than we need. As a result, we fill our garages with stuff, forcing our expensive cars into the driveway, and when there is no room left to store our stuff in the garage, we rent a storage unit. I know these storage solutions can be helpful in certain temporary situations, but when our “stuff” has been stored away for years and we haven’t even looked at it, why do we need it? Maybe it’s time to reclaim the garage or find a better use for all the stuff in the storage unit. We, as a society, are in need of epic-level decluttering. Someone else may be able to use the treasures we once thought so important.

And in order to finance our shopping needs, we are so busy making more money to buy more things that we forget: “We’re rivers. Not reservoirs.” (Bob Goff) We are made to give and not retain.

Whatever you have to give, do it lavishly. The amount doesn’t matter to God, but the heart does.

Bob Goff, Live In Grace, Walk In Love

Our personal treasures may tumble but Jesus offers eternal rewards! When temptation comes calling, remember who you are, and know who really has your back when life gets stormy. The biggest house on the block and the fanciest car in the garage (or the driveway) won’t help when you really need a friend you can trust. But Jesus will!

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38