Financially Content 2

Mark 8:33-37

As Christians, especially so soon after Easter, we are all keenly aware of the sacrifices Jesus made for the benefit of all people. We can take away from the account in Mark 8:31-38 the struggle that Jesus was having in facing the work he needed to do in approaching the cross. He has told the disciples of his impending crucifixion, and on hearing this Peter rebukes Jesus for considering this.

That is when Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan.” (Mark 8:33) In other words, don’t tempt me to stray from what I need to do. What are we called to do? What important message is given in verses 36 and 37?

We can certainly put a value on our home and on most of our possessions. We can put a dollar amount on our furniture, our car, and our insurance policy. We can make a list of our income amount and how much we spend each month on necessary items and unnecessary costs.

But what is the value of our soul? No matter how much money we have in the world, no matter what our income or what we own, what is the value of our soul?/p>

Does surrounding ourselves with possessions and objects make us better people? Is the true worth of a person measured in what is owned or in who we are?

The answer, of course, is that our true value is in the integrity of our lives and the goodness we can bring to the kingdom of God. It does us no good to amass material possessions and be horrible, greedy and uncaring people. We are called to be holy just as Jesus was holy. And often this endeavor, to focus ourselves on what is valuable to God, can be a struggle. In that struggle we may need to command the Satans of our lives – the desire for material gain, our possessions, our selfishness – to get behind us so that we are not distracted from our worthy goal.

We should be content with what we are given by God, content with having enough for our lives. We should focus on giving ourselves and our energies to God and not to building a kingdom of wealth.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can we do to put the “Satan” of greed behind us?