You know how in life, there are some things that you just want. Like material things. The shiny stuff. The flashy stuff. Girl, yes. I want a Bentley. I want to roll up in my Mercedes GLE and my Birkin bag in the passenger seat. I have a whole Pinterest board just for stuff that I want. A Cartier bracelet, a 7 bedroom house, a luxury vacation, I could go on.
But you know what I want more than that? You know what I want more than a Louis Vuitton Palm Springs Backpack Monogram Canvas PM? I want to make it to heaven. And I want to take a whole bunch of people with me. That is my focus. That is my aim. That’s what I really want.
I was looking at my Snapchat and IG stories of people I follow. And I found myself coveting what these people had and coveting their lifestyles. (side note: if you find yourself doing this, it might be time to unfollow some people!) A lot of these accounts were people that I knew or went to high school with. But as I was scrolling, I started to look at my own life and I began to question myself. Why don’t I have that? Why don’t I have this? Why am I not going there?
And I heard God say to my heart, stop measuring your life by the standard of the world. And immediately I was wrecked.
I heard Him ask, why are you coveting things that are not of Me? why are you jealous of people who are in the dark, living in sin? Again, I was wrecked.
See, the more we spend our time consuming the things of the world, the more we’ll want to look like it. Sometimes, if we’re not careful, we’ll begin to compare ourselves and our lives to lifestyles that have nothing to do with God.
Once God spoke those things to me, my whole mindset changed.
I’m done with assessing myself by worldly standards, and I want you all to do the same. Measure your life by the standard of light.
Life is more than what you own. Life is more than Birkin bags and $200 sneakers. So what if you don’t get to take lavish trips to the Caribbean? The closest you might get to a Louis Vuitton is a cute bag from Forever 21. and that’s okay. Here’s what we really should be striving for:
are you kind? are you showing compassion to others? are you sharing the Gospel with those around you?
are you spending time in prayer? are you worshipping in spirit and in truth? Do you love God with all your heart, mind, and strength? are you loving your neighbors?
measure your life by the standard of light. not the standard of darkness. store up treasures in heaven and not on earth. At the end of the day, all those shiny, flashy things lose their shine. They cannot fulfill you. They’re temporary, they’ll fade.
But the things of God are eternal.
“Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.
(Matthew 6:19-21)
