I used to read this, and I would think it was about stuff. As a kid, if I wanted a new bike, I trusted that God had my interests at heart, and I would pray really hard, only to be confused when I didn't get the bike. Did I not pray hard enough? Did God not hear me? What gives? Later, I came to think differently. It wasn't about the stuff at all. It was about what I thought the stuff would bring to my life. With the bike, I wanted a way to play and move and connect with my fiends. My old bike provided that just fine. The flashy model wouldn't change that, and perhaps God understood I didn't need it. Maybe it was something else I needed that I thought the bike would give me-- validation, attention, status. There are many things I want even now, and while I don't pray to get them, rarely do I examine the needs I'm experiencing that I think the stuff would fill. Maybe I should do that more, and understand what I should really be praying for.
Readings: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalms 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17
