Daily Devotional October 5 - You have to make up your mind

"And He (Jesus) said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Luke 12:15

Jesus lets us know that our life is not measured by the things that we purchase at the mall. What you acquire in the way of material wealth does not make you who you are, nor does it represent your true worth. In no way is it wrong to have things or even to accumulate wealth, but the spirit in which the things are accumulated and the stewardship of the wealth does represent the person's inner man.

I know many people that literally gave up everything for a job that brought in a lot of money. They admittedly: did not like the work, missed many valuable years away from their family, missed helping and watching their kids grow up, didn't have stability in their spiritual growth, grew apart from their spouse, and in some cases forgot who they were and all but abandoned their family altogether. They had money and a lot of it, but their lives were a mess and their family was estranged, their children non-responsive to authority and disillusioned about family life.

That's what covetousness can do to you. Jesus says beware of covetousness because Jesus knows the outcome of a life devoted to the acquisition of things. Jesus also knows what a person's life does consist of and it's through carefully listening to God that any of us can find the right way for our life.
There is another way to fulfill your dreams and goals without being covetous:

Bring God into your decisions before you make them about you job, business dealings, marriage, everything. That way you can get started on the right foot, with the blessings of God.

Pray along the way so that your eyes will be open to see the path that God is forging for you.
Don't be afraid to say no when the pressure is on for you to do something or go somewhere or buy something or invest in something that you don't have a confirmed feeling about. A confirmed feeling is the feeling you get after you pray to God about a situation and then you hear from God the answer. This answer must match your knowledge of the scripture. God doesn't give out answers that go against His own Word, ever.

Unlearn whatever has caused you to go in the wrong direction. It will be the hardest thing you have ever done, but the most valuable. We all have years of conditioning and the influence of multiple erroneous messages that we must overcome before we can see clearly; that the way of God is the best way for a truly wonderful experience. At the end of it all you should be able to look back and see when it was that you changed your mind about the way you were going to live, and be satisfied that from that point in time you did your very best to serve God and man. As with any real principle from God, you will have to make up your mind what you are going to do about what you know.