One of the nice benefits of the gift the Lord has given me here at Apprising Ministries is the chance to help bring draw the attention of the Body of Christ to uplifting things as well. The following piece written by Sam Guzman being an excellent example.

Sam is a fellow contributor at Slice of Laodicea and a freshman at BJU taking writing classes and Bible classes with a mass media major. When he was eleven Sam visited at the grave of the great missionary David Livingston at Westminster Abbey.

As he stood there Sam prayed that God might use him in some way too. With pieces like this I think it’s obvious that God is answering that prayer:

This past Friday, I decided that I would brave the ravening hordes and do a little Christmas shopping with some friends. What I saw disgusted me. We left early in the morning, but by 6:45am the streets were already packed with cars and the stores were bursting at the seams with greedy customers.

Money was no hindrance as shoppers spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on overpriced, cheaply made items that will most likely be forgotten in a week or two. The glitter, the flash, the emptiness. I felt like saying with Solomon, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?” (Ecc. 1:2-3). While I could continue to go on about how ludicrously materialistic America has become, I doubt that I need to–you already know.

How empty must the life of the unconverted be. No amount of goods, status, or pleasure will ever bring lasting satisfaction. No wonder the masses are seeking something more, seeking some sort of fulfillment, seeking some purpose. Unfortunately, they are seeking it in all the wrong places. Indeed, some even look for fulfillment in “God”, but it is a false god, it is a false spirituality.

It is a god that will let them live their life of comfort and pleasure and that will never call them to deny themselves or take up their cross; it is a god that wants them to be rich and fat and increased with goods; a god who will never require anything of them and who will never judge them. This god is their belly (Phil. 3:18-20). What is then end of all this? It is all vanity and sorrow of heart (Ecc. 2:11).

As Christians, we claim to have a higher purpose for existence. Yet how often do we live as if the world and its pleasures are all that matter? Oh, we like to speak about God and discuss theology from the comfort of our overstuffed pews, but how often do we actually live for Him?

All too often we live as if He doesn’t even exist. You can seek pleasure in getting, but it will not satisfy. “For whithersoever the soul of man turns itself, unless towards Thee, it is riveted upon sorrows, yea though it is riveted on things beautiful” (Augustine). The world and its pleasures are so attractive, but they are so very empty. They have tempted me as I am sure they have tempted you; covetousness is one of the easiest sins to fall into.

But God’s imperative “Thou shalt not covet” has not changed. Truth does not change with time. God keep us from the sin of covetousness which is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Life is far too short to be living the American dream. Give yourselves to God, covet Christ, live for Him, and with all your actions and words proclaim Him to the world. It is the least we can do for a God who has loved us with an everlasting love and given us such an unspeakable gift (2 Cor. 9:15).

The orignal post appears here.