Protecting our cherished desires

I'm reading a book by George Clason called 'The Richest Man in Babylon', which i recommend to anyone who is struggling to save or even make ends meet. Through several short stories, he shows principals (many of them Biblical) of budgeting and how to save and create wealth. He also shares some concepts on reducing expenditures we sometimes consider nescessities.

One statement in this book impacted me in a deeper way. The main character states: 'A budget helps you realize your cherished desires and protect them from your casual wishes.' How true this is. For example, if we budget for our cherished desire to buy a house, we might need to cut a casual wish to buy a sportscar. If our desire is to buy a car, we may need to forgo a casual vacation to Jamaica (unless that's our cherished desire).

We need to make choices, as there's a limit to what desires we can meet. 'All men are burdened with more desires than they can ever satisfy' the main character states. Even if we have sufficient finances, we are still limited by time, enegry and ability. I've said this before, God has never called us to do ALL things! We should budget our resources, and keep good financial, time and health margins, as Dr Swenson explains well in his book 'Margin'.

This brings me to the question: What are my cherished desires? And how much do i spend on my casual wishes? Are my casual wishes eroding my goals of attaining my cherished desires? I propose we take this a step further than just financial implications. What about our health? Does my casual wish to have that piece of cake erode my desire to loose weight? Or my wish to relax in bed over that morning work-out? Does my casual wish of watching TV erode my desire to read, study and get educated? Is my wish of having many casual friends eroding my desire for deeper and closer relationships? Does my wish to procrastinate with work erode my cherished desire for rest?

Not only should we budget our finances, but 'budget' (discipline) our wishes in a way that we can attain the desires of our heart. Our resources are limited, so we need to make wise choices. Are we counting the cost of our casual wishes vs cherished desires? And if we do, are we truly protecting the desires of our heart?

In our image or His?

Inbetween an old bible I just found something i wrote well over 20 years ago.

We feel the breeze, but have never seen the wind,..
We feel in the stream, but know not where the river begins,...
We see His works, yet do not know His ways,..
We praise a God, in the image we have made.

Do we we praise a God in the image we have made?  I remember sitting in church writing these few lines, but i can't remember exactly what inspired me to put these words on paper. Yesterday as i was hiking, i was asking the question, what does it mean to 'know God'? I thought of the preacher asking 'Do you really know Jesus? Do I?

Yesterday, Sunday was a day of worship. Many of us worship in different ways, and in different church enviroments. I don't want to suggest one form of worship is better than another, only God really knows and can see the worship of our heart. Seeing God's handywork in nature today, i was in awe of what He has created. As continued walking, i wondered 'do i really know the creator of all i'm in awe of? Am i worshiping God for who He is to me, perhaps looking at what He has created or given me? Is my picture or vision of Him full and complete or do i just see a glimps, a hazy destorted view of who He really is? Maybe like Paul suggest in I Cor 13:12 'For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face' now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And since we haven't seen clearly, have we in our own destorted view created an image of God we worship?

I no longer hesitate to admit i know very little of God, though my journey with Him has lasted decades. In my younger years i felt my image of God was fairly clear. Today i probably know more about God than i did then, yet i acknowledge i know just a fraction of who He really is. There's certainly much more i don't know about God, than i know, and this will remain true this side of eternity. Something to think about next time you worship Him.

So the next time someone asks 'Do you know God?' I think i'll reply 'I'm just starting to get to know Him...'

The shade of a vine...

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