We, as a group of followers of Jesus Christ, have become worse and worse at this (disconnecting from worldliness; or our things) at a time when we are approaching the Second Coming and a time when all things will be had in common. So the delta of reality vs what it should be is actually increasing as opposed to closing up. This is ominous because it means the reality when things hit will be substantially more than it has to be. A truly sad state of affairs. The prophecies indicated that a "strong spirit of extravagance and speculation" develops among the Saints, and that "financial bondage comes next".
I have a MIL that is now in Stage 4 cancer. Literally down to weeks to live. I am not knocking frugality and the principle of being a good steward over what we are given in this life, but she has accumulated substantial wealth in the form of real estate purchases. But now, with just weeks to live, it is all just meaningless; a distraction to the true purpose of life. I suppose she was just banking against the day she might have to go into long-term care and the expense of that. This form of thinking is not bad, so long as we do not forget others and show kindness and generosity, etc there. So far as I know, there is no yardstick to measure us against our accumulation of wealth, but the standard is clear that we do have an obligration to help the poor and be as generous as we can, as moved upon by the Holy Spirit.
Those who make it into the next phase of thinking (survive the plagues, etc) will have a Consecrated mindset. There simply will be more thinking for the next guy than there is for ourselves. This is what makes a successful marriage. It is what makes 1,000 years of peace possible. I want it. I desire it with all my being. I want to live for it, and if I cannot find it here, I am fine being on the other side with like-minded individuals.
I'm so sorry to hear this.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right. We tend to not think about the big picture. This is what I always tell my mother too. She has positions that she worries about and wants to continue to invest in it, but in the end, you leave with nothing. May God bless you in this difficult time.