wow. me and God just had some serious down-to-the-nitty-gritty time. yikes!!! i have wasted SO much of the last 3 years of my life. It all started because my fire for Christ offended someone I dearly loved. And little by little I withdrew. What about the commands of our Jesus are NOT offensive to the world? After all, is it not the Word that says that this world is at EMNITY AGAINST our God?!!!? We CANNOT be a friend of the world and a friend of God NOR can we love the things of this world AND the things of God. "Blessed is the man who walks NOT in the counsel of the ungodly NOR stands in the path of the sinner NOR sits in the seat of the scornful BUT his delight is in the LORD and ON HIS LAW he meditates DAY AND NIGHT"!!! Um, yeah, so is it just me, or is television and music and media and "common sense" not the "counsel of the ungodly and the path of sinners and the seat of the scornful"????? If the world has been crucified to me and I to the world (Gal 6:14), if my mind is set ABOVE (Col 3:1-3), if I am to NOT be conformed to this world (Ro 12:1-2), If the world WILL hate me as it hated my Jesus (Jn 15:18-19), If this world is at enmity against God (James 4:4), If I am to NOT love the things of this world (1 Jn 2:15), If ALL that is in this world is passing away (1 Jn 2:16) and all I live for of this world is wood, hay, and stubble that will be burned up and I will have to account for all the time I WASTED on wood hay and stubble...and hold account for NOT spending all that time on things that will last...ie: souls, eternity, things of heaven, the life of Christ!!!!! (1 Co 3:12-15) then why OH WHY oh why do we spend day after day focused on finances and debt, health and careers, college and retirement, homes and stability?????? These are fine and good, but WHEN WE DIE, THIS WILL DIE TOO!!!!!!! These things WILL NOT ENTER ETERNITY WITH US! But to save a soul, to spread the gospel, to know His glory...THIS WILL SURVIVE FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER! Tell me, if I live my life in "reckless" abandon, as a "fool" for Christ, with loss of all "common sense" according to this world, tell me, if I live my days by faith so that I am free to FOCUS ON THE THINGS OF HEAVEN, to worry more about the abused child, the man who has no hope, the tribe who has never heard the name of Christ, the beggar who is empty and every single man, woman and child who is "WITHOUT HOPE and WITHOUT CHRIST IN THE WORLD"....tell me....if I live for THAT, is my God BIG ENOUGH to take care of me, to take care of my clothes and meals and all that jazz??????? No, REALLY. I know, common sense, plan your future. Right. The world can do that. But WE ARE CALLED TO A HIGHER CALLING! If you don't agree, or this makes you uncomfortable, than please dear friend, take this up with Christ. His own words: "I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, nor about your body, what you will wear; IS NOT LIFE MORE THAN FOOD AND THE BODY MORE THAN CLOTHING? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of MORE VALUE than they? Which of you, by worry (or laboring!) can add one cubit to his stature? So WHY do you worry about clothing?!!? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They do not spin nor toil!; and yet even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these! Now if GOD so clothes mere grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow passes away, will HE not MUCH MORE clothe YOU? O ye of little faith! Therefore DO NO worry, saying 'what shall we eat' or 'what shall we drink' or what shall we wear'!!! FOR AFTER ALL THESE THINGS THE UNGODLY SEEK. BUT YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN KNOWS THAT YOU NEED ALL THESE THINGS. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD and these THINGS will be GIVEN TO YOU. Therefore DO NOT worry about tomorrow." Mt 6:25-34, the words of Jesus our Lord, the same yesterday, today, and forever!!!!!
Now please, someone tell me, is do we not slave and stress and save money to clothe ourselves and save for retirement and FEED our families? Um, wait. hold on. I believe He said to NOT spend time asking what we will WEAR or EAT...hmmm......and to NOT SEEK these things. And forgive me, but retirement ends at death, friend, does it not? So why are we not more concerned and spending more time BEYOND RETIREMENT, AFTER DEATH...you know, the eternity part? And why are we not broken and concerned that NO MAN WILL PERISH. See, the clothes and tvs and houses and money and cars and food will perish. period. And the man and woman and child who do not believe on the name of Christ will PERISH, seperated from the LIVING GOD forever. period. And YOU can do something about it.
So Christ is a "fool" or the wisdom of this world is not so wise. Take your pick.