Do you sometimes think of upgrading your car, house or holidays? I often do—it’s normal, but is it necessary?
I recently saw a Volkswagen car advertisement that read:
“Every so often, you realise you’re worth a bit more, and the things you once found extravagant become altogether necessary. Because once we get a taste of a better life, there’s no going back.”
What an incredible insight into human nature. We continually want more and better and nicer things, even though it may cause others to have less, or distract us from our God-given mission.
Are the people who humbly follow Jesus of Nazareth, and believe that they have an incredible eternity awaiting them, called to upgrade their lifestyles at the same rate as people who don’t know God? Are we also to seek satisfaction and worth from the nice things we own?
The Bible clearly teaches that we are to be conservative in our living, so that we can be liberal in our giving. Maybe God allows us to be “worth a bit more” so that we can upgrade our standard of giving, not just our standard of living.
Yes, it is time for me to upgrade—my giving.
Julian Archer is the founder of Faith vs Finance—a global ministry working with Christians who seek to maintain a vibrant relationship with Jesus amidst the pressures of materialism and self-centred lifestyles.
