Here are some rather entertaining First World Problems that I found...
I wanted to turn off the lights in my bedroom, but my bed was too comfortable...
My iPhone is dying, but the charger is in the next room...
I poured my cereal into the bowl before I checked to see if we had milk... We didn't.
I have too much chips for my dip, but if I open another container, I'll have too much dip for my chips...
I hate it when I tell them that I don't want pickles on my sandwich and they put pickles on my sandwich...
I walked into the bathroom with my socks on and the floor was wet... Now my socks are wet...
There were no parking spots close to the door...
My hot dogs come in packages of 10 and the buns come in packages of 8... Why?
My personal Favorite: McDonald's doesn't deliver...
I'm not gonna lie sometimes it's difficult to live in a first world country. Nothing ever seems to go right. It's hard to go to the potty sometimes when you forgot to bring your iPad with you and have nothing to entertain yourself but the words on the back of a shampoo bottle. But honestly, I'm not here to mock or mimic first world countries or make jokes against them, but I want to share what God has been impressing in my heart.
I know many random facts, I have no idea why. (Did you know that the 100 billionth crayon made by Crayola was actually Perrywinkle Blue? Probably not.) But as I was driving home over Spring Break, I turned off the music and just began to meditate on life and on God. Then one random fact stuck into my head and wouldn't leave for the rest of the trip.
If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are more wealthy than 75% of the world!
I furthered my research:
If you woke up healthy today, you are more blessed than the one million people who won't last the week.
If you can read the this blog, you are blessed. Why? 3 Billion people in the world can't even read.
50% suffer from malnutrition.
1% has a college education.
1% owns a computer
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and a jar of loose change, you are among the top 8% of the most wealthiest people in the world.
Why am I sharing this?
Not to make you feel blessed.
Not to make you feel superior.
Not to make you feel sad for the poor.
But, to make you look at yourself.
As I was meditating on these facts, God reminded me of a passage. But before I bring that up I want you to know this, even if you don't believe it: You are rich. You are wealthy. You are blessed. You have much more that most people can say.
And what does Jesus say about the rich?
Mark 10: 23-25
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said AGAIN, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
Why is it so hard for us? Why does Jesus describe OUR salvation to be nearly impossible!?
I will tell you why...
1. We are selfish. We never truly own something until we are willing to give it up. All that we have is a blessing of God. If we are not willing to give it up, we are selfish. God will judge us all one day for what we did with what we are given. And many do not use their gifts for the kingdom.
2. We don't need God. We worked hard for our money. We worked hard for our education. We worked hard for our house, our car, our food. We earned it!
No you didn't.
You earned death. You earned suffering. You are a liar, a thief, and a murderer. But Jesus took your punishment so that you can live a life worth living. And that is a life in reverence to HIS glory, not your television or WiFi. Not for your glory.
3. We don't even worry about death. You hear stories from missions trips of people fighting for water, clothes, and a scrap of food for their children. When was the last time you ever worried about getting something to drink or eat? Just walk to your sink and you have clean water. However, when the salvation of Christ is brought to those who are dying and struggle with everyday life, they are so much more open to the blessings of God. Why? Because they truly understand the need of a provider. We do not. We became our own providers in our minds.
4. Finally, we have too many distractions. I'm not going to be legalistic and tell you that televisions and computers are of the devil. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes playing my Xbox is one of the greatest stress relievers! But when we spend hours upon hours everyday with these things, these possessions, and we struggle to even spend 15 minutes a day with God, we have our priorities mixed up.
We rely on ourselves most of the time and we don't see the need for God. Therefore, we don't earnestly seek his face daily. We don't seek a relationship with the Most High God, the one who provides, the one who loves and the one who seeks our affection and we neglect to give it to him.
Eternity-Minded
Earlier on in this Passage, we see the rich young ruler approaching God asking how to have eternal life. Jesus asks if he's obeyed the commandments. "All of these I have kept since I was a young boy!" he retorts. But yet, there was one thing that he lacked.
Too many Christians today believe that keeping the commands brings you eternal life. This scripture proves them wrong. As we keep a tight reign on those commands, we have to keep a tight reign on the giver of those commands. When we are living for worldly possessions, we are no longer eternity-minded. We live for ourselves and not for God. We become deceived in our ways.
Who the can be saved?
Mark 10:26-27
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but not with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!"
We are not hopeless. We are not beyond rescue. But there is only one way we can be saved and that is not through anything we can find in our homes. It is only through prayer and earnest seeking of God's face that we can hear Him say to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our priorities CAN change. Our attitudes towards the world CAN change. Our love for God CAN grow. And our lives CAN be radically moved.
Jesus ends this passage by saying, "Many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Where do your priorities lie?
Where are your provisions coming from?
Are you seeking God's heart with all of yours?
He deserves it.
God Bless,
Buddy Crabtree
I wanted to turn off the lights in my bedroom, but my bed was too comfortable...
My iPhone is dying, but the charger is in the next room...
I poured my cereal into the bowl before I checked to see if we had milk... We didn't.
I have too much chips for my dip, but if I open another container, I'll have too much dip for my chips...
I hate it when I tell them that I don't want pickles on my sandwich and they put pickles on my sandwich...
I walked into the bathroom with my socks on and the floor was wet... Now my socks are wet...
There were no parking spots close to the door...
My hot dogs come in packages of 10 and the buns come in packages of 8... Why?
My personal Favorite: McDonald's doesn't deliver...
I'm not gonna lie sometimes it's difficult to live in a first world country. Nothing ever seems to go right. It's hard to go to the potty sometimes when you forgot to bring your iPad with you and have nothing to entertain yourself but the words on the back of a shampoo bottle. But honestly, I'm not here to mock or mimic first world countries or make jokes against them, but I want to share what God has been impressing in my heart.
I know many random facts, I have no idea why. (Did you know that the 100 billionth crayon made by Crayola was actually Perrywinkle Blue? Probably not.) But as I was driving home over Spring Break, I turned off the music and just began to meditate on life and on God. Then one random fact stuck into my head and wouldn't leave for the rest of the trip.
If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are more wealthy than 75% of the world!
I furthered my research:
If you woke up healthy today, you are more blessed than the one million people who won't last the week.
If you can read the this blog, you are blessed. Why? 3 Billion people in the world can't even read.
50% suffer from malnutrition.
1% has a college education.
1% owns a computer
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and a jar of loose change, you are among the top 8% of the most wealthiest people in the world.
Why am I sharing this?
Not to make you feel blessed.
Not to make you feel superior.
Not to make you feel sad for the poor.
But, to make you look at yourself.
As I was meditating on these facts, God reminded me of a passage. But before I bring that up I want you to know this, even if you don't believe it: You are rich. You are wealthy. You are blessed. You have much more that most people can say.
And what does Jesus say about the rich?
Mark 10: 23-25
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said AGAIN, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
Why is it so hard for us? Why does Jesus describe OUR salvation to be nearly impossible!?
I will tell you why...
1. We are selfish. We never truly own something until we are willing to give it up. All that we have is a blessing of God. If we are not willing to give it up, we are selfish. God will judge us all one day for what we did with what we are given. And many do not use their gifts for the kingdom.
2. We don't need God. We worked hard for our money. We worked hard for our education. We worked hard for our house, our car, our food. We earned it!
No you didn't.
You earned death. You earned suffering. You are a liar, a thief, and a murderer. But Jesus took your punishment so that you can live a life worth living. And that is a life in reverence to HIS glory, not your television or WiFi. Not for your glory.
3. We don't even worry about death. You hear stories from missions trips of people fighting for water, clothes, and a scrap of food for their children. When was the last time you ever worried about getting something to drink or eat? Just walk to your sink and you have clean water. However, when the salvation of Christ is brought to those who are dying and struggle with everyday life, they are so much more open to the blessings of God. Why? Because they truly understand the need of a provider. We do not. We became our own providers in our minds.
4. Finally, we have too many distractions. I'm not going to be legalistic and tell you that televisions and computers are of the devil. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes playing my Xbox is one of the greatest stress relievers! But when we spend hours upon hours everyday with these things, these possessions, and we struggle to even spend 15 minutes a day with God, we have our priorities mixed up.
We rely on ourselves most of the time and we don't see the need for God. Therefore, we don't earnestly seek his face daily. We don't seek a relationship with the Most High God, the one who provides, the one who loves and the one who seeks our affection and we neglect to give it to him.
Eternity-Minded
Earlier on in this Passage, we see the rich young ruler approaching God asking how to have eternal life. Jesus asks if he's obeyed the commandments. "All of these I have kept since I was a young boy!" he retorts. But yet, there was one thing that he lacked.
Too many Christians today believe that keeping the commands brings you eternal life. This scripture proves them wrong. As we keep a tight reign on those commands, we have to keep a tight reign on the giver of those commands. When we are living for worldly possessions, we are no longer eternity-minded. We live for ourselves and not for God. We become deceived in our ways.
Who the can be saved?
Mark 10:26-27
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but not with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!"
We are not hopeless. We are not beyond rescue. But there is only one way we can be saved and that is not through anything we can find in our homes. It is only through prayer and earnest seeking of God's face that we can hear Him say to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our priorities CAN change. Our attitudes towards the world CAN change. Our love for God CAN grow. And our lives CAN be radically moved.
Jesus ends this passage by saying, "Many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Where do your priorities lie?
Where are your provisions coming from?
Are you seeking God's heart with all of yours?
He deserves it.
God Bless,
Buddy Crabtree
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