Is it better to…..
However, from my limited experiences I will hazard a guess at answers to the following questions. As I am sure you realize, the answers depend on the maturity of the person and most importantly, on the purpose that person has in God’s kingdom.
God trained Moses to be SOMEBODY while in Pharaohs house for 40 years. Then He trained Him to be NOBODY in the desert for 40 years. Then as D.L. Moody said: “Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.”— D.L. Moody
A NOBODY depends on God for everything. A nobody is not deceived by his or her own importance.
- Is it better to have nothing to lose or a lot to lose? I think it better to have nothing to lose. The more you have, the more your mind dwells on preserving what you have and, very often, getting more. This is especially true with money. The Bible tells us we cannot serve God and money and it also says that the LOVE OF money is the root of all evil. As Christians we want our main love and focus to be on God. It is difficult to do that when we are preoccupied with possessions and money. If you do have a lot, be sure to share with others and to give thanks often. And always remember that everything belongs to God.
- Is it better have a great deal of influence with man, or very little? This is kind of a tossup in my book. A lot of influence can be very good if you are solidly grounded in the faith and know what you are talking about. However, the Bible warns us in the Book of James that the judgement of teachers will be greater than that of the average person. This is clearly because you might just lead people the wrong way. This is very serious. That’s a major problem I have with those who seek high public office. Why in the world would a person who does not fear God, nor employ/advocate His principles when governing seek a high office? All you bring at that point is your opinion – which matters very little – unless it is rooted in the oracles of God.
- Is it better to have much material wealth, or a little, or just enough? Once again if you have wealth and it does not “have you”, then you have the ability to help others in the name of the Lord. More often that not however the person with a lot of wealth gets hardened to the needs of the poor and stops sharing. This is why you really do not see mega-giving among the mega-rich. Also, I think it most unwise to seek to have “too little” – finding that somehow virtuous. If you cannot make ends meet your focus will again not be on God, but rather on the meeting of your own basic needs. It is not good to be intentionally poor. David says in Psalms that he has never seen the Lord forsake His anointed, nor his seed begging bread. Elsewhere in the Bible, the writer of Proverbs asks that the Lord not give too much nor too little. Proverbs 30:8 8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. This is very wise.
- Is it better to know a great deal about things, or only a little? I think the more we know the more prideful we can become. If we are mindful that the revelation of all truth is provided by God, and that saving grace knowledge is in itself a gift from God, then that is a good start. Knowing a lot is good, but knowing the wrong things or things that are not strictly true is clearly not a good thing. Truth is found in God’s word. It is good to stick to scripture and not one’s own personal experiences to establish doctrine. Remember there is always more truth to be learned. And remember that absolute truth is only found in scripture. So, I recommend humbly searching the scriptures to find truth. Once you find it on a certain subject you must realize that in some cases, there can be more than one interpretation of a truth. For example, there are many teachers of scripture that are absolutely sure they know the end times scenario. Don’t be too dogmatic about anything other than the centrality of Jesus Christ to eternal life.
- Is it better to be very blessed with few challenges or to have a mixture of life experiences? Well there is no way in which I would advocate seeking sadness and/or misery. However, the better things get, the more we can forget God. So, remember God in the day of blessing and seek Him in the day of adversity. Ecclesiastes says “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them”. You can also read that to mean to remember God in the good days when all is well. You will need Him even more when the days of evil come upon us. The bad times cause us to experience the suffering of Christ who died on the cross for us. They cause us to cry out to our God and to feel His comforting presence when most needed. These experiences all together build a strong and complete faith.
