BIble: Look at me! Envy me! Please?

Status/Modesty/Envy 15 March 2024

Jesus had a lot to say about status seeking - whether showing off one’s religiosity (i.e, publicizing your fasting, alms giving, or prayer), or wealth (by “conspicuous consumption” in dress and adornment).

Status seekers are insecure people who want others to envy them. In other words, they are tempters. They are not content with who they really are and are desperately seeking identity – this is who I am, people. (Not what I secretly know I really am). I have worth – just look.

Would you believe, some are willing to pay five figures for prestigious hand bags?

Never be reluctant to pay for good quality “stuff,” be it a car, a house, or a pair of pants. Just don’t pay for status. You will always be cheated if you do.

Believers should not need to advertise their worldly superiority; we are children of God.

Grandma and I decided a long time ago to live modestly, and well below our means. When we were traveling a lot in our younger days, people at church used to wonder, “How can they afford to travel like that? Look at where they live!” Duh...

Don’t be confused about a “jealous God.” No, God is never envious (of what others have), He is jealous (of what He already has). Contemporary speech has juxtaposed the two emotions; they are not the same.

God is unwilling to let go of the souls He has saved.

Loving you

Grampa Jeff