Self-control stinks!
We were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I did a good job of not giving in to the temptation of buying t-shirts, pencils, magnets, or anything else that I usually spend money on during a trip. I was proud of myself, especially, when I managed to make it out of a mall with no purchases. I asked my husband if he noticed. He replied, “I’m impressed by your self-control.”
My reply?
“Self-control isn’t much fun.”
And it’s not.
It would be a lot more fun to buy what we want, do what we want, live how we want, with no regard to the future, our budget, or society. And some people do live this way, to some extent.
But just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you should buy everything you want. Just because you turn 21 doesn’t mean you should run out and get drunk.
You get the point.
The tenth commandment tells us not to covet what isn’t ours. Talk about fighting human nature? Who hasn’t seen a nice house, a pretty dress, and wished it was yours? There goes #10 right out the window!
Truth is, self-control isn’t fun. It’s boring. It gets in the way of getting “stuff.” But as long as we keep trying to fill ourselves up with “stuff” instead of filling up with God, we will continue to run on empty.
And when we want “stuff,” when we make that desire the centerpiece of our existence, we run smack into the first commandment:
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20: 3
When you make the stuff more important than God, when you yearn for things more than you yearn for Him, you are making that stuff into gods, earthly gods. Whether it is a house, a car, or even a spouse or friend, nothing can come before God.
Nothing.
I’ll end with a line from the song “Stuff” by Diamond Rio. Very funny, but pretty darn true, too:
Stuff! Oh it’s treasure till it’s mine then it ain’t worth a dime!
March 2nd, 2010 at 7:25 am
Amen! I am also reminded of Psalm 23 - “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not WANT”. Ouch, when we think about it, that really hits home.
May 26th, 2010 at 7:55 am
wow
June 27th, 2010 at 3:25 am
Its amazing to me how many ways one can go about investing your money. I’ve found for me that best solution is both risky and low risk stocks. I often times put about half of my investments into low risk mutual funds that grow over time and the other half in high risk high gain stocks. I recently got into day trading and I discovered that software stock picks are the best reliable as they can automate a process that I cant do quickly enough. The guys over at PrometheusFinancials.Com have a terrific system. You might want to check them out!