Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000130S
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00:00 - Now, depending on how you read it,
00:02 the Bible seems to indicate that it's wrong to want things, 00:06 but is it always wrong? 00:08 And at what point do your personal desires 00:10 actually become a violation of God's law? 00:13 That's today on "Authentic". 00:16 [upbeat music] 00:36 You know, some days I really find myself 00:39 with a little bit of a conflict on my hands. 00:41 On the one hand, as a child of the Cold War, 00:43 I'm a big fan of the freedom we enjoy 00:45 in most Western societies. 00:48 But then on the other hand, I cringe 00:50 when I see just how materialistic we've gotten. 00:52 And if I'm really honest, I'd have to admit, 00:55 well, I'm doing it too. 00:57 Last time we met, 00:58 when we talked about the eighth commandment, 01:00 the one that prohibits stealing, 01:02 we kind of did this deep dive into the now prevalent notion 01:05 that people exist for the sake of the state, 01:07 and that you and I are just cogs in a machine 01:10 means to an end. 01:12 That idea has been around since the days 01:14 of ancient pharaohs and emperors, 01:16 people who are often deified 01:18 because they were thought to actually embody the state. 01:21 And you find this idea that the state owns you 01:24 in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers as well, 01:26 people like Plato who tried to paint a picture 01:29 of the ideal human society and is now famous republic. 01:33 But you know, it was really Jean Jacque Rousseau 01:35 who kind of entrenched the idea 01:37 that the state somehow owns you 01:39 during the enlightenment period. 01:41 And when we looked at him the first time, 01:43 you might remember that I mentioned, 01:45 well, I'm a big fan of free market economies. 01:48 Why? 01:49 Well, it's not because I think they're perfect 01:51 or that they don't have some serious shortcomings, 01:54 and I really don't believe 01:55 that free markets can give us a utopia. 01:58 I mean, human attempts at creating some kind of paradise, 02:02 almost always end in complete disaster or even death 02:06 because they're built on the idea 02:08 that human beings would suddenly become entirely good 02:10 and righteous if you could just place them 02:13 in the right environment. 02:15 It's a way of thinking about the world 02:17 that ignores the problem in our human makeup, 02:19 a flaw that the Bible describes as sin. 02:23 So why would I lean toward free market economies? 02:26 Well, it's not because they have the potential 02:29 to eliminate all human suffering. 02:31 It's because it's a system 02:33 that's just a little more honest 02:34 about our sinful human nature. 02:36 You and I are unavoidably self-interested. 02:40 When Western civilization moved away 02:42 from the feudal system and from monarchy, 02:44 and we started to build self-governed republics, instead, 02:48 what we were really doing was putting up fences 02:51 around our tendency to serve self first. 02:55 In theory, a free market economy is a system 02:57 that sets you free to spend your life the way that you want 03:00 as long as your choices don't interfere 03:03 with someone else's right to do exactly the same thing. 03:07 Now, I should probably explain this 03:08 just a little more carefully 03:10 because so many people have this unfortunate tendency 03:13 to see everything in black and white. 03:15 And if somebody doesn't agree with us completely 03:18 on every last point, 03:20 then we start to think that they must be evil. 03:22 So I know there will be some people who say, 03:24 "Well, Shawn, if you favor that kind of freedom, 03:27 that means you think greed is good." 03:29 And of course I don't. 03:31 I think greed is a terrible way to live, 03:33 and I completely agree with Jesus' warning 03:36 about the materialistic worldview. 03:38 "Take care," he said, 03:39 "And be on your guard against all covetousness 03:42 for one's life does not consist 03:45 in the abundance of his possessions." 03:47 You know, to be perfectly honest, 03:49 I'm really kind of disturbed by the way that so much 03:52 of Western Christianity has adopted a prosperity gospel. 03:56 This idea that if you really, really love God, 04:00 you're always gonna be successful and rich. 04:02 And I hate that because, well, it's a perversion 04:05 of the Christian gospel. 04:08 But all that aside, 04:09 I still value what we have here in the West 04:12 because so far, historically speaking, 04:14 this is the very best we've been able to do. 04:17 And it is a system that has lifted more people 04:19 out of poverty than anything else we've ever tried. 04:22 I mean, if you and I were living 400 years ago, 04:25 I'd probably be living in a hut on a rich man's property 04:28 somewhere in Western Europe, 04:30 and there'd be no chance I'd have access to an education 04:33 because, well, that wouldn't be my assigned station in life. 04:36 I'd just be a surf. 04:38 Market economies just seem to be a more honest way 04:41 for us to deal with the problems 04:43 that come from being sinful. 04:45 It's a system that admits we're essentially selfish 04:49 and it tries to mitigate the damage we're allowed to cause. 04:53 And again, that doesn't mean the system isn't problematic 04:55 because it really is. 04:57 A lot of bad things happen when the almighty dollar 05:00 becomes the God of your society. 05:03 But when you consider the alternative, 05:05 where the state becomes your God 05:08 and you are a slave to that state, well that's even worse. 05:12 And I know, there are people who will say 05:14 that working for a wage is a form of oppression, 05:17 but there is a big difference. 05:18 I mean, you can always quit your job. 05:20 It might lead to hardship and it might not be practical, 05:23 but you still can choose to do it, 05:25 as opposed to the people who suffered in the Russian gulags 05:28 for having the wrong opinion. 05:31 And it's on this point, 05:32 that I find myself at least a little bit conflicted. 05:36 I do value the system I live in 05:38 because it leaves me with a modicum 05:40 of intellectual and religious liberty. 05:43 And right now I see concerning trends 05:45 that are clearly moving, in the wrong direction. 05:48 But for the moment, 05:49 you and I still have a great deal of freedom. 05:52 So that's the upside. 05:54 But then at the same time, I've got to admit that a system 05:57 that can promote an ungodly attitude 06:00 that's radically at odds 06:01 with the principles found in the 10th commandment, 06:05 and just in case you're a little bit rusty on 06:07 what the 10th Commandment actually says, let's just read it. 06:11 It says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. 06:14 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant 06:17 or his female servant, or his ox or his donkey 06:20 or anything that is your neighbor's." 06:23 So let's think this through. 06:25 On the one hand, it's perfectly fine to want a better life, 06:29 and it's fine to try 06:30 to provide something better for your family. 06:33 In fact, Paul even tells us in 1 Timothy 5, 06:37 "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives 06:41 and especially for members of his household, 06:43 he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 06:48 So that tells me there's nothing wrong 06:50 with wanting things like a comfortable home or decent food 06:53 or good clothing. 06:55 Those are good things. 06:57 And you'll notice that back in the fourth commandment, 06:59 six of the seven days each week 07:01 are actually dedicated to working 07:03 so that you can get those kinds of things 07:05 for you and your family. 07:07 But at the same time, God draws a definite line in the sand 07:11 and says, "If you cross this line, 07:13 your natural desire to want things becomes a sin." 07:18 That I would call the envy line. 07:20 And you cross it when you go past the things you should want 07:23 to the things that you shouldn't want 07:25 or to things that don't really 07:26 and cannot really belong to you. 07:29 If you think about it, the 10th commandment 07:31 is kind of a kissing cousin to the eighth commandment 07:34 because coveting stuff that doesn't belong to you 07:37 and shouldn't belong to you, 07:39 is the first step toward taking it. 07:42 You're mentally setting the table to become a thief. 07:46 And I think that's one of the key problems 07:48 we've developed in our present economic environment. 07:51 A lot of it is based on generating dissatisfaction. 07:55 Advertisers sell things by generating a desire to buy them. 07:59 And to a certain extent, 08:00 there's really nothing wrong with that. 08:01 I mean, people need refrigerators, 08:03 and if you're in the refrigerator business, 08:06 you're gonna expend effort convincing people 08:07 to buy your product. 08:10 That makes sense. 08:12 But then in a lot of ways, because we're sinful, 08:15 we're going way past basic salesmanship 08:17 into generating desires that might not be appropriate. 08:22 Of course, there's nothing wrong if you can afford it 08:25 with getting something a little bit nicer, 08:27 but when we create desire among people 08:29 who can't afford what we're selling, 08:31 to the point where they're willing to accumulate debt 08:34 just to own that thing, well that becomes a problem. 08:38 Haven't you noticed 08:40 that all your neighbors have a bass boat? 08:41 Don't you think you deserve a bass boat? 08:44 Well, maybe not. 08:46 Not if I'm struggling to feed my kids. 08:48 I'll be right back after this. 08:50 [upbeat music] 08:54 - [Announcer] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 08:55 we're committed to creating top quality programming 08:58 for the whole family. 08:59 Like our audio adventure series, Discovery Mountain. 09:02 Discovery Mountain is a Bible-based program 09:05 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 09:07 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 09:10 from this small mountain summer camp, Penn town 09:13 with 24 seasonal episodes every year 09:15 and fresh content every week. 09:17 There's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 09:23 - It's pretty hard to escape a culture 09:26 of perpetual dissatisfaction, 09:28 which is kind of what we've got here in the western world. 09:31 Now, again, I'm not saying I want a different system 09:34 because I really don't. 09:36 I'd rather be free than go back 09:37 to having the state micromanage everybody. 09:40 And of course, that means that if there's a problem 09:43 with coveting, the problem really lies with me. 09:47 And that would be true for any of the 10 Commandments, 09:49 because if you have to force somebody 09:51 to keep those commandments against their will, 09:54 well they're not really keeping them. 09:56 You can only keep them by choice, 09:58 or they don't really have a whole lot of moral value. 10:02 You know, I think Jesus actually demonstrated this 10:04 with the way he broadened our understanding 10:06 of God's moral law. 10:09 Let's say that everybody in society 10:10 finally gets sick and tired of adultery. 10:13 They hate the way that it damages families 10:16 and violates trust. 10:18 So we pass some really harsh laws to make it stop. 10:22 And because this is just a thought experiment, 10:25 let's make the penalty really bad. 10:27 Let's make the penalty for adultery really serious. 10:33 You get the death penalty for cheating on your spouse. 10:36 And to make it even less tempting to break the commandment, 10:39 let's say it's not even a neat and tidy execution, 10:41 it's old school, 10:43 in the town square on the first Wednesday of every month, 10:46 and it's gonna be really hard to watch. 10:48 It'll be a public stoning or burning at the stake 10:51 or something really, really awful. 10:54 And to make sure we catch the people committing adultery, 10:57 there's a million dollar cash reward 10:59 for telling on your neighbors. 11:02 Now, under those kinds of circumstances, 11:04 the number of people committing adultery 11:06 would suddenly plummet, 11:08 but did it solve the basic problem? 11:11 The answer is well, no, 11:12 not if you consider the way Jesus explains it 11:15 in Matthew 5, you have heard Jesus said that it was said, 11:19 "You shall not commit adultery. 11:21 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman 11:24 with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her 11:28 in his heart." 11:30 So banning the practice of adultery 11:33 doesn't really solve the problem 11:34 because at the core of the matter 11:36 is your sinful human heart. 11:38 It's really an issue of intent. 11:41 Keeping God's commandments begins here in the heart, 11:44 and of course so would breaking them. 11:47 You might be able to stop people from acting out 11:49 their desires, 11:51 but it's impossible to keep people from thinking about them. 11:54 It's one thing to keep yourself from committing a sin, 11:58 but it's really quite another thing 11:59 to grow to hate that sin. 12:01 And so, as much as some people might think it's a good idea, 12:04 forcing obedience to God's law 12:07 doesn't really solve the problem 12:09 any more than adjusting society can fix it. 12:12 Tinkering with the state is not going to correct 12:15 what's ultimately wrong with human beings. 12:18 Whether you hope to change the state 12:19 because you want some kind of a theocracy, 12:22 or just because you want a big, powerful secular state. 12:26 You cannot change sinful hearts 12:29 just by changing the laws of the land. 12:32 The solution has to start with you. 12:35 We're not living in the perfect kingdom of Christ. 12:37 I mean, not yet. 12:39 And you and I have to try and navigate this broken planet 12:42 in a way that puts a smile on God's face. 12:45 As Jesus prayed, 12:47 "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, 12:49 but that you keep them from the evil one." 12:52 You know, I've got to tell you, 12:54 it's a huge relief to know that Christ 12:56 actually lived in this place. 12:58 He understands what you're up against, 13:00 and he actually experienced 13:01 real temptation out in the desert. 13:04 And by the end of that episode, Jesus tells us, 13:07 "Look, I've got your back." 13:11 It's a little bit like that popular religious commercial 13:13 that says that Jesus quote, gets us, 13:16 you don't have to be alone 13:18 when it comes to the matter of keeping God's commandments. 13:21 Remember what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10? 13:26 He writes, "No temptation has overtaken you 13:28 that is not common to man. 13:30 God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted 13:33 beyond your ability, 13:35 but with the temptation, he will also provide the way 13:37 of escape that you may be able to endure it." 13:41 But how in the world does that work? 13:44 I mean, how do you stop coveting? 13:46 I struggle with this one as much as you do, 13:49 and in some cases, maybe even more. 13:51 I mean, I've been a Mopar guy as long as I can remember. 13:55 And when I see somebody driving one 13:56 of those brand new challengers, there is a part of me 13:59 that says, "Well, how is that fair? 14:01 Why don't I have that?" 14:03 Or when I see somebody with a really nice sailboat 14:06 and they've retired before the age of 60, man, 14:09 I wish I could have that. 14:10 I want that too. 14:12 And again, at one level, there's really nothing wrong 14:15 with wanting a good life, 14:17 but the minute you cross the line into envy, 14:20 when you find yourself resenting the people 14:22 who have what you want, 14:24 the minute you start to daydream about unethical shortcuts 14:28 to get what you want out of this world, 14:30 well then you're moving into territory 14:32 that God clearly forbids. 14:35 Why? 14:37 Because when you live in a broken world with a broken heart, 14:39 there's never going to be an end to the stuff you want. 14:42 You're never going to find happiness. 14:45 Remember, Jesus taught us how to find real contentment. 14:48 He said, "For the Gentile, seek after all these things 14:52 and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all, 14:55 but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness 14:58 and all these things will be added to you." 15:02 You know, in this case, Jesus is actually talking about 15:04 necessities, things like food, clothing, and shelter. 15:08 Even then God says, seek him first. 15:11 Find your identity in who he is 15:14 and leave behind all that anxiety. 15:16 Real happiness, 15:18 real contentment is never found in possessions, 15:20 and that becomes doubly true when we're talking about stuff 15:24 you don't actually need. 15:26 You know what it's like, you want something, you get it. 15:29 And for about four and a half days, 15:31 you experience a real sense of satisfaction. 15:35 But then you start to notice what's wrong 15:36 with that new possession. 15:38 Or you notice that owning it 15:39 hasn't actually changed who you are, 15:41 and it hasn't helped you 15:42 with your biggest character defects. 15:45 That's because you were not originally wired 15:47 to find satisfaction in stuff. 15:50 Let me show you something that Paul wrote, 15:52 and I'm guessing you've heard this before, 15:54 because right now a lot of those prosperity preachers 15:57 are openly abusing this text for personal gain. 16:00 I mean, if you ever heard a preacher read this verse, 16:02 as a way to make you think 16:04 that your number one goal in life should be getting rich, 16:07 Paul writes, "I can do all things through Christ 16:10 who strengthens me." 16:12 Well, there you have it. 16:13 Some preachers will tell you, if you want more money, 16:15 you can do that through Christ who strengthens you. 16:18 Want a new Corvette in your driveway? 16:20 Just create a vision board, put it over your desk, 16:22 and believe that you can do all things 16:24 through Christ who strengthens you. 16:27 There's just one problem with that. 16:29 That's not at all what Paul was teaching. 16:31 I mean, just ask yourself, 16:33 why don't these preachers ever read the whole thing? 16:36 Here's what it actually says starting in verse 12. 16:39 "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound, 16:42 everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full 16:45 and to be hungry, 16:46 both to abound and to suffer need. 16:48 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 16:52 What's Paul talking about? 16:53 Getting wealthy? 16:55 No. 16:56 God enables Paul to be content, regardless of circumstance. 17:00 In fact, Paul has learned how to be happy 17:03 even when he's poor or sitting in jail. 17:05 I'll be right back after this. 17:08 [air whooshing] 17:09 [upbeat music] 17:11 - [Announcer] Life can throw a lot at us. 17:14 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 17:17 but that's where the Bible comes in. 17:20 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 17:23 Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 17:24 we've created the Discover Bible guides 17:26 to be your guide to the Bible. 17:28 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 17:31 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 17:34 and they're absolutely free. 17:36 So jump online now or give us a call 17:38 and start your journey of discovery. 17:41 - Okay, maybe we should look at some of the practical things 17:44 you can do to deal with the problem of coveting. 17:46 The most essential problem you and I have 17:49 is our fallen human nature. 17:50 This tendency to put ourselves 17:52 at the very center of the universe. 17:56 If you constantly make life all about you, 17:59 I promise that finding real contentment 18:01 is pretty much gonna be impossible 18:02 because your ego is one of those things 18:05 that you can feed and feed and feed, 18:08 and it will never be full. 18:10 So what would happen if you started thinking about yourself 18:13 from a slightly different angle? 18:15 What if instead of wanting to be the center of everything, 18:17 you actually gave God that role? 18:20 What if everything you are 18:21 and everything you own actually belongs to him? 18:25 And what if instead of being a land baron 18:27 or a wealthy owner, you thought of yourself 18:29 more of a property manager where your real job 18:32 is to take care of somebody else's things. 18:35 Now, if you're a property manager 18:37 and you want to keep your job, 18:38 you're gonna have to do it in a way 18:40 that keeps the boss happy. 18:42 If a human employer 18:43 put me in charge of an investment portfolio, 18:46 what would happen if I dipped into his account 18:48 to buy stuff for me? 18:50 And let's say my boss is really generous too. 18:52 I have a decent home, food to eat, 18:55 and all my bills are getting paid. 18:56 All of my basic costs and obligations are being covered. 19:00 In that case, I am part of the boss's overhead, 19:04 but outside of my salary, 19:06 the rest of the money belongs to him. 19:09 When you adopt the understanding 19:10 that you're God's property manager, 19:12 it gives you a much different perspective on who you are 19:15 and what you're supposed to be doing with your life. 19:17 For example, let's think about your house. 19:20 I know you are the one paying the bills right now, 19:22 but let's suppose you're really just the property manager 19:25 and you're taking care of that home for its real owner. 19:28 What difference would that make 19:30 in the way you conduct yourself? 19:33 What if the answer to a covetous heart 19:35 is to assume that we don't really own anything? 19:38 And I mean absolutely nothing. 19:41 Most of you are aware 19:43 that many Christians practice something called tithing, 19:45 where we give 10% of our income to the church. 19:49 Cynical people say that the church is scamming Christians, 19:52 but that's because they don't really understand 19:54 what tithing is. 19:55 It's not a money grab. 19:57 I mean, God hardly needs my money. 19:59 It's a tangible way of acknowledging 20:01 that I no longer own my own life. 20:04 I've surrendered it completely to God. 20:07 You might think of it like a franchise fee. 20:10 God sets me up in life and he takes care of me. 20:13 He handles all the big problems, 20:15 and all he wants in return is 10% of the profit. 20:18 Now, if you've never tried this, 20:20 let me tell you, it really works 20:23 and you'll never understand that until you give it a try. 20:27 I can tell you for sure that my wife and I 20:29 are not wealthy people, 20:31 not by any stretch of the imagination, 20:34 but we've been tithing for our entire married life. 20:37 And somehow we've never missed a house payment. 20:40 We've never missed a meal, 20:42 and we've never failed to provide for our kids 20:44 because we're tithing. 20:46 In fact, it's really just the opposite. 20:48 Somehow, and honestly, it's hard to prove this empirically, 20:51 but somehow we do better because of this. 20:55 Somehow 90% of your income in a relationship with God 20:59 ends up being a whole lot more money 21:02 than 100% without him. 21:04 And again, I know, 21:06 some people have grown to think of it as a big scam 21:08 by organized religion. 21:10 And after watching even a little bit of religious TV, 21:13 I completely understand 21:14 why some people would think that way. 21:17 I mean, to be really blunt, 21:18 I'm sick and tired of preachers who say stuff like, 21:21 "Send me a faith gift, a seed, and I guarantee 21:24 that your seed will grow into 100 times as much." 21:27 They're essentially promising that if you make them rich, 21:30 God will make you rich. 21:32 And frankly, you're not gonna find that in the Bible. 21:36 So honestly, I really do understand the skepticism, 21:39 but I can also tell you firsthand that tithing works. 21:44 It's not because God needs my money, 21:45 he really, really doesn't. 21:48 Tithing teaches me that I don't own anything. 21:50 And again, when I leave 10% of my income with God, 21:53 it reminds me that he and I are partners in my life. 21:57 God pays for everything because he owns everything. 22:00 He sets me up with a job and a house and groceries 22:03 and clothes to wear, and all he wants is 10%. 22:07 Honestly, I think it'd be crazy 22:08 not to take a deal like that. 22:10 I mean, imagine that you're going into business 22:12 and you're gonna open a widget factory, 22:14 but you're penniless, you have no capital. 22:17 So along comes an Angel investor who says, 22:19 "Look, I'll build the factory 22:21 and I'll buy the office equipment 22:23 and I'll give you a company car, 22:24 and all I want in return, 10%." 22:28 My first reaction would be, "Don't you mean 90%? 22:30 Because after all, you're the one absorbing 22:32 all of the risk." 22:35 So maybe try thinking about your life from that perspective. 22:39 I can assure you, if you assume 22:40 that you're managing somebody else's stuff, 22:43 you're not gonna buy things you don't need, 22:45 and you're gonna be careful with what you do have. 22:48 If the boss gives you a car, 22:51 all you really need 22:52 is something reliable and cost-effective. 22:54 In that case, I don't need a Lambo. 22:57 When you become a steward or a property manager, 23:00 you don't find fulfillment in luxury. 23:02 You find fulfillment in responding to the trust 23:05 that that investor has placed in you. 23:08 So now let's take that thought experiment back 23:10 to the real world. 23:11 God is my angel investor, 23:13 and I've come to the realization 23:15 that we're in this together. 23:17 I'm finding genuine fulfillment in the only place anybody 23:21 can actually find it in a meaningful relationship 23:24 with the God who made us. 23:26 I'll be right back after this. 23:29 [upbeat music] 23:32 - [Announcer] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 23:37 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 23:41 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 23:43 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 23:46 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed 23:49 to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 23:52 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 23:54 for you and our world. 23:56 Study online or request them by mail 23:58 and start bringing prophecy into focus, today. 24:02 - Just before the break, I was talking about tithing 24:05 and the way it can serve as a bit of a remedy 24:07 for the problem of greed. 24:09 If I start to think of myself as the head butler 24:12 or a steward in God's house, 24:15 suddenly the need to accumulate more things 24:18 kind of just evaporates. 24:20 It doesn't seem important. 24:22 I mean, here's this all important, 24:24 all knowing being who trusts me with his stuff. 24:28 And you know, I think that might actually be the root 24:31 of the problem when it comes to the 10th commandment. 24:34 You and I have broken trust 24:36 with the God of the universe, the creator. 24:39 Back in Eden, we decided that we really can't trust him. 24:43 And once that all important trust relationship was damaged, 24:47 well, we tried to find meaning for ourselves, our own way. 24:51 Some people started chasing power. 24:54 Other people chased things like fame or influence, 24:57 and some people just started accumulating stuff, 25:01 hoping that somehow 25:03 all those possessions would raise their stock value 25:06 and make their lives seem meaningful. 25:09 But pay careful attention to the political climate 25:11 that we're living in right now, in this moment, 25:14 there's this old school resentment 25:17 of the rich and the powerful that seems to be growing 25:20 by the day right now, 25:22 partly because politicians are feeding people sense of envy 25:25 to get them to vote for their party. 25:29 And it's getting to the point where 25:30 it's getting kind of worrisome 25:32 because it's starting to look a little bit 25:35 like the restlessness in the streets of Paris 25:38 on the eve of the French Revolution. 25:40 And we all know how that ended. 25:43 Look, I understand it's easy 25:46 to hate the rich and the powerful. 25:48 They're really kind of a natural scapegoat. 25:50 But let's do another thought experiment. 25:53 Put yourself in their shoes for just say, 10 or 20 minutes. 25:57 You can't really go out in public and enjoy yourself 25:59 because somebody's gonna take your picture 26:01 and put it on social media. 26:03 And trust me, it's not gonna be flattering 26:05 because they want to take you down a notch 26:06 and put you in your place. 26:09 You're gonna have to live your life under a microscope, 26:13 and there's always somebody out there waiting to take 26:15 what you have. 26:17 Famous actors might not have to worry about money, 26:20 but they do have to worry that their fame won't last, 26:23 or that things like their good looks 26:25 are gonna start to fade. 26:27 And when that happens, and it always does, 26:31 half the world celebrates 26:33 because they were quietly resenting you. 26:36 Now, I'm not gonna say that I've never fantasized 26:39 about being fabulously wealthy because, well, who hasn't? 26:44 But there's a whole new set of worries 26:45 that comes with that life 26:47 that I don't have to deal with right now. 26:49 And I can promise you, those one percenters, 26:53 yeah, some of them are happy, 26:55 but some of them really aren't. 26:57 Things like money, fame and power are not this silver bullet 27:00 that produces long-term contentment. 27:03 I mean, you might not think of yourself as wealthy, 27:05 but compared to much of the world you kind of are, 27:09 and still you find yourself unhappy. 27:13 At the end of the day, we covet because we're dissatisfied, 27:17 and we're dissatisfied 27:18 because we're looking for happiness in all the wrong places. 27:22 Possessions break, they wear out, money comes and goes. 27:26 Fame never ever lasts, but a partnership with God, 27:32 tell me how that's gonna leave you empty. 27:33 It doesn't mean there'll be no more stress. 27:35 It doesn't mean no more problems, 27:36 because believe me, I know firsthand 27:38 that's not actually true. 27:40 But here's what I do find in the pages of this book, 27:43 I find hope and honestly, you don't have to covet hope 27:47 because God's got no limit on how much of that 27:49 he's willing to give you. 27:51 Thanks for joining me. 27:52 I'm Shawn Boonstra, 27:53 and this has been another episode of "Authentic". |
Revised 2025-05-28