Job 1:21 “He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’”

ALL THAT YOU HAVE

Don’t you just love Job? I mean, come on, he has just lost everything – flocks, crops, children – and he blesses the Lord. Could you say that? Could you bless the Lord if you lost everything? Could you be like Job? Yes, you could, but only if you abandon it all right now.

Do you realize that your clothes aren’t your clothes? Do you realize your house is NOT your house? AND do you realize your children ARE NOT your children? Nothing in this world truly belongs to us. They are gifts from God. If we hold them with our hands open, if and when they are taken from us, we can willingly let them go.

TEACHING MOMENT

But how in the world do we teach our children that? When we take away a favorite toy as a consequence for bad behavior you would have thought we had cut off a finger. Lol Our kids get way too attached to stuff, don’t they? Today every child believes they have a RIGHT to a cell phone or Ipad. We have not helped them by indulging them.

Now there is nothing wrong with having stuff. We just have to hold it loosely. One of the best ways I know to show our kids how unimportant things are is to get them involved with a mission opportunity where they can see others who don’t have what they have. They can learn that you don’t need stuff to be happy. Have them take one of their favorite toys and give it away. Don’t force that, just encourage it.

We have been blessed with so much. But when all you have is Jesus, you discover that He is all you need!