Ok, have you really thought about it? I can't stop thinking about it. Have I been a fool. I have. I know I have. I've tried to keep what I cannot keep, ignoring what I cannot lose. Jim Elliot, evangelical missionary, is said to be the author of these convicting words and he indeed lived by them, giving his life in an attempt to bring the gospel to a violet tribe in Ecuador. His life and his words challenge me. They haunt me. They make me think about every action, every moment of my day.
I first heard these words at General Conference and I can't get them out of my mind. At first I only looked at them with regard to money as the quote was read right before a (RECORD BREAKING $4.3 MILLION) offering. I looked at it and I thought of the clothes, the shoes, the knick knacks, and the stuff I'd bought in attempt to keep my money, to sit it around me, to wear it, to enjoy it. Oh the fool I've been. I can't keep my money. It's not my money. It's God's money. I've given but not enough. Money is simply a tool. It's not something to collect or show off. It's a tool and how will I use it? I should use it for the things of God. It can be used to build churches, to support missionaries, to feed orphans, and so much more. Those things cannot be lost. They are of the Kingdom. They are eternal. That's how a wise me should spend my money.
Money. That's obvious. Then I thought longer. Time. Time is another thing I try to keep and use for my own purposes when instead I should give it. How much time do I spend on Facebook when I could read my Bible or another edifying book? How much time do I spend in my own busyness when I could be reaching out, telling other's about Jesus? How often do I want to just enjoy my dinner instead of taking time and making friends with the waitress and inviting her to church? Are my conversations frivolous or do I spend time encouraging my friends? How do I spend my time? It's not mine. It can't be kept. The clock just keeps ticking, ticking, ticking. But it can be used to gain the Kingdom, to reach souls with no price.
Money. Time. Those are easy. They're here, they're now, they're short term and simple to understand. Then I thought bigger. What will I do with my life? My career? Will they be used for Jesus or just to gain a paycheck? I want my life to be spent for Him, giving up me to show others Him. Life is but a vapor and can't be kept so why not give it for Him who has life eternal.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Jim Elliot
