The Finer Things of
Life
Ken Stoltzfus
What role
do "the finer things of life" play in the experience of the Christian?
You know, the humongous TV, the hi-tech stereo, campers, SUV's, and
recreational boats and airplanes - - to name a few! All have the capacity to enrich
life, but none can appease the restlessness in man's soul.
Many
Christians pursue them as basic sources of life's satisfaction. Some have
almost unlimited opportunity and assume that such is their right.
The finer things of life have
no power to meet our need for fulfillment. They seem to know their own
limitations better than we do. The boredom and emptiness which come when one
insists that they make life full, almost seems like their mockery of our
vanity. Solomon's riches literally shouted, "Vanity, vanity!" to him
in his relentless pursuit of satisfaction in them. He demanded more of them
than they could produce!
God has made it so. It's a law
of life. The law of gravity says that if you jump out of an airplane without a
parachute, you will get hurt. It's unavoidable. It's a law that is just there. It remains unchanged regardless
of man's wishes and will confirm itself to all who try to disprove it.
So it is with man's need for
the zest of life. There's a law in this matter that no man has ever evaded.
The law of life regarding
man's wholeness is this. As fuel is essential to an airplane engine, so man's relationship
with God is essential to human fulfillment. He made it so.
When sin came into the world,
that relationship was broken. But then because of the love of the Father and
the sacrifice of the Son, it was restored for all who believe.
When our primary need is met
through our walk with God and worship of Him, the finer things become a
wonderful embellishment. They demonstrate His providing power and His love and
kindness toward us. They remind us of His generosity, draw our hearts toward
Him, and activate within us, generosity toward others.
But they also have the
capacity to become the focus of our attention. Detractors from the real source
of Life.
Because of the unrelenting
craftiness of Satan, each can become a weapon in his hand. He will try to draw
us away from our fellowship with God, and turn His blessings into objects of
our heart's affection. They become an essential ingredient of life to us rather
than merely an embellishment. We could no longer be satisfied without them!
We should receive every good
thing with a combination of gratitude and holy fear. Thankful for it but fearing
its potential to capture us. Holding it loosely - - always ready to give it up.
Determined to live fully without it should that time come in God's plan. And
humbled by the awareness that it will turn against us if we require too much of
it.
We tend to honor folks who
have many of the finer things of life. Actually, if they need them in order to
feel good about themselves, it is a sign of spiritual weakness! If they allow such
things to separate them from more ordinary people, and from God, they are proving
their failure, not their success. We ought to be wiser about that.
If our life is missing some of
the embellishments that we would enjoy, it might challenge us to ask. Or to
search our hearts for obstacles. Or to wait. Or to find satisfaction in Him
without them!
If we have much, but the day
comes when we have little, we may want to remember that they were only icing on
the cake. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we still have the Bread of Life. And
nothing else really matters. Heaven is waiting!
Born in 1940, Ken Stoltzfus has worked as a
pilot, ordained Christian minister, businessman, missionary to Africa and
writer. This is #9 in his series, "The View from up Life's Path", and
is one of many short articles that can be found at www.flyinghigher.net
© 2003, Ken Stoltzfus, flyinghigher.net, P.O. Box 548, Apple
Creek, OH 44606 USA. May be printed for personal use and may be reproduced for
non-commercial purposes without further permission if proper acknowledgment is
given and a copy is sent to the author.
