Luke 8:7,14 “Other seed fell among thorns
that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants…The seeds that were
planted among thorns are people who hear the word, but as life goes on the
worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke them. So they don't produce
anything good.”
Riches and pleasures
– that’s the second half of the equation that Jesus talked about saying that
the Word of God sometimes is choked when we are too busy enjoying life.
But wait – look at what the Bible says in
Ecclesiastes 5:19, “And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the
good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – this
is indeed a gift from God.”
Health, wealth, pleasure...these are gifts
from God. In and of itself, there is
nothing wrong with enjoying life. It’s
when we forget to include God in our life, when we forget to thank Him for our
blessings, when we get so wrapped up in having fun that we eventually forget
God is the One responsible for all the good we enjoy – that’s the kind of behavior
that leads to low productivity.
Actually, Jesus says that when we are consumed
with riches and pleasures we don’t produce anything good, and this makes
perfect sense to me. If always having
fun and the money to finance all that pleasure were enough in life, rich and
famous people would never commit suicide or get in trouble for bad behavior.
I have often heard that, “So and so had
everything. Why did he kill himself?” I have had that reaction myself. This proves that wealth, fame, prestige, and
fun are not enough. There has to be
something more to make sense of life.
The key is to enjoy these gifts from God but
not at the expense of God. To live life
joyfully but with the awareness that God is our Father, Protector, Provider, and
Source of every blessing, and to always have a prayer of thanks at the ready.
That is the formula for true success. When the seed heads our way, we water them
with gratitude and stay connected to Christ.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, We thank you for blessing
us with so much. Forgive for those times
when we have been too busy having fun that we have forgotten about You. Sometimes we only come to you when there a
crisis and completely ignore You when everything is going smoothly. You are the reason we are breathing, and wealth
and health come from You. We never want
to choke the life-giving seed You desire to plant in our lives by being too
busy for You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~
