“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2:16-17 NLT)
What do you crave? Think about that for a moment. Yeh, I get it – cherry pie and Tillamook Vanilla Bean ice cream – duh! But seriously, when you’re alone with your thoughts, where does your mind go? If you think about it, craving is just another word for addiction. We crave sex, money, attention, recognition, success, position, prestige – the list is long and, on many levels, frightening. How so?
Because what we think is followed closely by what we do, how we personalize and materialize our thoughts into actions soon gives us and everyone else visibility to our thoughts. What we think about comes about, so however we invest our thought-life, it’s just a matter of time until we see the manifestation of our thoughts turn into actions.
If you’re someone who loves Jesus that’s good news. Why? Because to invest our time pondering the Word of God, memorizing Scripture, researching the meaning of words and passages and how they relate to our life today, will result in not only greater levels of knowledge and understanding, but, ideally, living in greater measures of Christlikeness. But here again, what’s prompting these cravings – for good or evil?
Though I probably should have given it more effort, I’ve never been much of a pleaser. If I ever got a gold star for anything in elementary school, it was probably – as my kids used to say – “on an accident.” Yet, today, while I still don’t consciously seek to please people, I do want to excel in my pleasing Jesus. But even that positive and godly aspiration can haunt me with the obvious question – why? Why is pleasing Jesus so important to me…or you?
Lisa Lakey wrote in a Family Life devotion: “At an early age, I bought into the lie that success=value. That I was ‘less’ if I failed, if someone didn’t like me, if I wasn’t the best. So I held on dearly to each little gold star, be it figurative or literal (God bless elementary teachers!). Each one a life buoy to hold me over until the next one. And in between? Lots of non-star-worthy moments. Maybe this is why I didn’t accept Jesus until I was in my twenties. I just couldn’t fathom a world where, ‘the last will be first, and the first last’ (Matthew 20:16). But can I share something I’m still learning?”
Then she said something that caused me to look closely at my own heart. “My husband needs a wife motivated by love, not one obsessed with achievement. And I want my husband to feel he can come to me when he falters a bit, not scared of whether or not I will hold him to some unrealistic standard. Our value in this marriage is not determined by our successes, but upon the love and forgiveness Christ has shown each of us. No gold stars here. But love, hugs, apologies, and second chances? We have lots of those.”
The people in our lives, but more to the point, our Savior, deserves our love, not simply our focused attempts to achieve recognition or to receive His love. The Lord doesn’t give us “gold stars” when we “perform” well. Here’s the beauty of His love: “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us (don’t miss this) WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.” (Romans 5:8)
We don’t live good, quality, Christ-centered lives for earthly trinkets or “atta boys (or girls).” We allow the Holy Spirit to live His life in and through us to point us and others to the grandeur and greatness of our Savior. The reality is, we have nothing of value to offer Him. He IS our value; He IS what gives our lives worth.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 