There’s a song by the band The Eagles titled “Busy Being Fabulous,†where the man in the song is lamenting about coming home to an empty house because his wife has decided to go out on the town again. She leaves him a note that says, “Don’t wait up for me tonight.†His wife is seeking the high-roller life instead of the wonderful quiet, country life they dreamed of when the first fell in love and got married. She’s out chasing dreams that she’s never going to realize.
I wonder how many Christians, or at least those who profess to be Christians, are just too busy being fabulous to allow God to do a real work in their lives? How many Christians live an insecure Christian life because of a false trust in man and the things of this world? How many Christians are trusting in earthly riches instead of heavenly treasures?
Psalm 52 is described as “A contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him, ‘David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.’†David writes in verses 5 and 6 of how God will destroy Doeg for betraying him and how the righteous will see this in fear and laugh at his destruction and say:
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“Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.†(Psalm 52:7)
We know that money itself is not evil; money is inanimate and soulless. Money is an instrument that in the right hands can do much good, and many wealthy Christian men and women do so. We also know that money in the hands of evil people does much harm. However, even the righteous Christian man or women of wealth must guard themselves from the pursuit of money at the expense God and family. Righteousness is what blesses the life of a Christian man and his family.
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“He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.†(Proverbs 11:28)
It is not only trusting in riches that can fail us, but also trusting in the wrong people. If we will allow Him to, our Lord will surround us with people who give us smart and godly counsel. I know too many Christians, particularly in the arena of politics, who trust in the counsel of unrighteous people who seemingly have much knowledge about a subject, however they lack wisdom. These are the people who cause much grief in our lives:
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“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.†(Proverbs 25:19)
It has taken me many years to get to the level of trust in God that I have today. Time was not necessary; it was obedience. I didn’t have to seek after a super-spiritual level of trust in God in order to rely on Him. I had to surrender my all to Him and know that God will never forsake me. God will never let me down and that no matter what I go through, I can trust Him to see me through it. The key is to read God’s Word and then live it out.
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“Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.†(Psalm 94:12-14)
I could fill volumes testifying to the times I trusted in my own wisdom and made a huge mess out of my life. it wasn’t until my heart desired God’s wisdom that my life began to have meaning and I began seeking God’s righteousness. So many wasted years where I thought I knew what was best for my life instead of reading and heeding what God had recorded that which is the true life.
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“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.†(Proverbs 28:26)
What about you? In what or whom are you placing your trust? What are you chasing in this life to find joy and peace? All things in this life are temporal. Money is important, but it is not eternal; neither is fame. Jesus explained the way to the abundant life and how to receive an eternal reward:
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“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?†(Matthew 16:24-26)
Trust in Jesus, first for salvation and then for security. Security in knowing that because you are pursuing the Lord’s righteousness that all you do, if done for the glory of God, will not be in vain. When Jesus returns He will reward each of us according to our works. I do not mean trust in your good works to save you from hell, but having trusted Christ for salvation doing good works unto Him.
That would not only be righteous, but also it would be fabulous.
In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4
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Copyright © 2014 David Jeffers
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Apologetics, Bible, Christian Activism, Christianity, Culture, Evangelism, Faith, Hope, Joy, Morality, Revival, Sin, Truth, Wisdom