Creekside Church Sermon of September 19, 1999 "The Best Things in Life"	Rev. David Bibbee
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"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust can consume and where thieves steal," he said. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." All the royal palaces on earth combined could not contain treasure entrusted to us. Only the vast vaults of heaven can contain it. But there is something which keeps us from this inheritance; something which adds such weight to our hearts that we won't rise above the level of worldly concerns like the gentiles that Jesus said were anxious about what they would eat or wear.

Our Father knows what we need to live, and he promised to provide it when we first seek his kingdom and righteousness. But I'm afraid we have been tyrannized by the things of this world. We favor the voice of fad and fashion over the voice of the Father. We bow down to technology and dream of how much better and easier life will be with a faster, more powerful computer, or when we switch from cable to satellite TV. With all the technological marvels at our fingertips, we will worship gadgets and not God.

The Lord puts pointed questions to us. Do we own things, or do things own us? Do we use things and cherish people, or do we use people and cherish things? The old Brethren resisted the fashions of the world. They shunned luxury. They had no carpets, paintings, or costly furniture in their homes. We look back at the prohibitions and debates about electricity in homes or owning cars and are amused by it. We see how these concerns took center stage away from the truly important matters of Christian discipleship. It's easy to see how our Brethren ancestors sometimes fell into legalism and pride around what Christians should or shouldn't have. What we forget however, is the desire that fueled their concern.

The issue wasn't whether it was wrong for men to wear neckties or women to wear hats, or today, whether we have a car or a computer. Technology itself is not a demon. The issue is, "Do things help us or hinder us from living the good life and glorifying God and living a life in harmony with the teachings of Jesus?"

Take an inventory of the things which surround you. The world's resources can't sustain our lifestyle, nor can it handle the pollution our consumerism creates. Do we consume more than our fair share of the world's resources? Do the things we buy add to the quality of our lives and the lives of our families? Am I purchasing this thing because I need it or because advertising has seduced me that my wants are the same as my needs? How are values and convictions about right and wrong taught to our children, by face to face, caring conversation or through a steady stream of negative images on the television?

It's a gift to be simple, and the simple things are best. The beauty of a sunny September Sunday. The love, the caring and the fellowship of family and dear friends and our friends in the faith. The grace we receive when we need it and the gift we give and get from helping others. Hearing and telling the hope we have for the future because of God and the salvation we have received in Jesus which is a treasure which neither time nor circumstance, nor moth, nor rust, nor thieves can take from us.

I met a nun this week who is new to the staff at St. Mary's Prayer Center. Prior to coming here, she was employed outside the church. Ministry had wearied her, so she decided to get a job in the secular world. I asked what she did. She replied, "I worked where America burns incense on the high altar of consumerism...I went from ministry to the mall." She said she hated it so much that after one week she was on the phone to her superior asking to come back. "No," she was told. "It will be good for you to do it longer." She said she was glad she did. She learned to live on $800 a month. She learned to live frugally, but discovered the wonder of God in simple pleasures. She also learned about ministry...finding ways to witness to all of the lonely, depressed, hurting and lost people that use the mall like a church- coming to buy things they think they need, or which they hope will make them feel better, if only for a little while. Sister MaryAnn learned again and helped others know that the best things in life are not things at all.

We should regularly take note of the things with which we have surrounded ourselves, and remember all the things we don't need to lead a good life.

You might remember what Jesus told a rich young preppie who wanted to have eternal life. He told him to have a garage sale, give all he had to the poor and follow him. Before the young man could "let God", he had to "let go" which is what life with Jesus is all about. He seeks to separate us from our stuff. He asks us to let go of our unhealthy attachments so we can be free to more fully follow him, and realize the riches that are already ours. Let's ponder this as we sing the refrain of our next hymn:

Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness,
morning by morning, new mercies we see.
All we have needed, thy hand hath provided,
great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

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