More than Enough
Lessons from a melon?
More than enough!
God’s creativity in teaching me His lessons never ceases to amaze me. In the introduction to this blog, I mentioned how I had realized that frequently I was making decisions that would lead me away from the blessings mentioned in Deuteronomy 28, rather than to them. And sometimes wrong decisions, stemming from wrong attitudes, actually lead us to the curses.
This week I was in the grocery store buying a few groceries. The honey dew melons were on sale, and since I really enjoy them, I decided to get one. The melons of course are sold by the item and not the pound. As I approached the beautiful display of melons, I realized that one was noticeably larger than the others. Since I always want to get the most out of my money, I of course picked out the biggest, most beautiful melon that I could find.
That evening as I lay in bed, I was contemplating that melon. God asked me, “Did you really need the biggest melon?” Need it???? Of course I didn’t need it. After all, I am the only person in my house that will eat it. So, God continued, it’s possible that you might not even be able to eat it all? Well, yes, that was possible. It was a lot of melon. Then came the clincher. Did you ever consider that there might be a mom or dad out of work, or a single mom struggling to make ends meet, or a family struggling to feed multiple children that could have really benefited from a melon that size?
Dilligent and hardworking stewards.
OUCH!!!!!! I was forced to admit that I hadn’t considered that at all. The only thing I had considered was how to get the most bang for my buck. I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself. Immediately I was reminded of the Israelites who had gathered more manna than they needed. (Exodus 16) God had given them strict instructions on exactly how much to gather, and He had also told them not to keep any of it until morning. But some of them (who were of course being thrifty and planning ahead), stored some up for the next day with extremely unusual results.
Now there are of couple of legitimate points that can be made here. The first being that they disobeyed God – which they certainly did do. Another could be that they were just being frugal and storing up for their family – which of course God expects us to do. We are told in Proverbs 6:6-8: Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. There is no question that God expects us to be diligent and hardworking stewards of His resources.
Take only what you can eat.
However, what stood out to me was the fact that God had commanded them to gather according to their need: This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” (Exodus 16:16) They were to gather only what they could eat. This was not the time to store up for a rainy day. But those excessively thrifty souls – or possibly just greedy souls – thought surely it would be a good idea to store some up for morning. (Translated this means they thought they knew more than God. Lol!)
The next morning, much to their surprise, the manna had bred worms and it stank! (vs. 20) Ha! I guess God showed them unmistakably what He thought of their plan. And it wasn’t that the manna just wouldn’t keep. No, God commanded them to gather extra on the sixth day to consume the seventh day so that they could obey His command to rest on the seventh day. The seventh day manna was just fine – no worms or stench. They needed extra on day 6 to be able to obey God’s command on day 7.
Bountiful supply!
So what did all of this have to do with my melon? God used that melon (as only He can) to cause me to do a close examination of my heart. Am I thinking of others like I should be? Am I motivated by greed when I take more than I need? God certainly has a lot to say about greed. It is one of those things that definitely moves us away from God’s blessings. Proverbs 1:19-20 says, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. Jesus warns us in Luke 12:15, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” (NASB) And in his letter to the Colossians, Paul ranks greed right up there with sexual impurity: Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. (Colossians 3:5 NASB)
God’s provision is always bountiful, but we must be careful not to abuse his generosity with our greed. Things as simple as taking the biggest and best can be signs that we are not considering the needs of those around us. We must examine our hearts to be sure that we have not allowed greed to creep in. The needs of others must always come before our own. And it is our responsibility as Christians to meet the needs of those around us if we have the means to do so.
So the next time I see a big melon, I think I’ll just pass it by. After all, I want to stay on “The Blessing Road.” It’s a great place to be! See you out there! 🙂
GUARD RAIL: Be careful to keep greed out of your heart!
“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15 (NASB)