Less is More
Proverbs 15:16-17 NIV
"Better a little with fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred."
I've mentioned before in a blog post that when my husband and I were first married, we managed to get ourselves into a significant amount of credit card debt. We were very young, uneducated about credit cards, and he was bringing in a good amount of money with his new job, so in turn we thought "why not use credit cards instead of the money we have?" We bought all kinds of things we didn't need-lavishing jewelry, expensive clothing, the newest technology, even a beach vacation. But back then, we hadn't known what it meant for my husband to be laid off, as his work had been pretty steady our entire relationship. Of course, that was until 2020 hit and we were faced with the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, my husband faced the longest lay off period of his career. What used to be easy to make credit card payments, turned into a choice of "what is more important this month? buying groceries and paying the mortgage/electric bills, or pay our credit card payments?" With a one-year-old at home and a new baby on the way, the choice was obvious.
Though I want to say that this was one of the most horrible situations we've ever gotten ourselves in, it really taught us something important-not just about life in general, but about our faith: stay humble. There's nothing more humiliating than having debt collectors call you every hour of the day, and even family members, trying to get a payment from you... especially when you just don't have it. This is where the wisdom from Proverbs 15 comes into play. In Luke 12:33-34, Jesus tells his disciples to sell their possessions and give to those in need. In doing so, great treasures will be stored up for us in Heavan, and wherever our treasure is, so resides our desires. When we choose to live righteously, we are choosing the path of humility, humbling ourselves just as Jesus did. When we stop allowing ourselves to be conformed by the desires and "treasures" of the world, we allow ourselves to make more wise decisions through Christ because we know our treasure is waiting for us safely in Heavan. Might I say, while my experience was humiliating, it taught me that more isn't better... it only creates turmoil.
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