Friday, July 24, 2009

Into the Depths of God 3

He who has the most toys wins.
I owe, I owe – so it’s off to work I go.
Calvin Miller hits the theme of materialism as one issue preventing us from experiencing the depths of God. Materialism is the worldview of those who keep their eyes focused on “getting ahead” in the world at hand.
Christ championed a higher focus, encouraging us in Mathew 6:33 to treasure the kingdom of God and his righteousness and the values of the world at hand will be exposed for what they are – a lot of bogus values. What God wants us to treasure is inward and spiritual. Only as we get the God’s-eye view of things can we escape becoming forever trapped in minor material hunger and surface values.

If a focus on material things doesn’t ring your chime, try busyness. Miller says that a heavy appointment calender and the sheer egotism that comes from heavy spending are close companions.

He closes the short chapter with these words: Since we are bought with a price, maybe we should forgo the fruitless pursuit of our own shallow getting and spending. Perhaps Christ’s ownership of us will be altogether more important than our ownership of any mere material thing. But best of all, his ownership establishes a rich sense of inwardness - a wholenness of life and attitude that make our access to God immediate