Playing God

Recently at church, we have been going through the book of James.  Personally, the book of James is one of my favorites.  This last week we were in James chapter 4 verses 13-17 as well as chapter 5 verses 1-6.  The last few verses of chapter 4 discusses our ability to focus a lot on our plans.  We can make plans and decisions, very far in advance.  We can believe very heavily in our plans.  However, sometimes this can hurt our relationship with God.  Similarly, The first few verses of chapter 5 discusses our relationship we can have with money.  We as people, even as Christians, can make a lot of decisions around money, which can also in turn affect our relationship with God. 

It is important to focus on things like plans and money.  We don’t have to be completely flippant with either one of these items.  We should make plans and can even sometimes make promises to one another.  We are in a society, sanctioned by God, to do our jobs and follow through on those.  We also have been given resources such as money by God.  This is something we should be wise with.  We need to make sure we are using these resources wisely.  However, we need to make sure we are not letting either one of these things become a god in our lives. 

I am personally a planner.  I am a planner to an uncomfortable degree for a lot of people.  When I first started dating Cole, he really noticed how many plans I would make a long time in the future. He would find it hard initially to plan out the dates with me, especially any fun surprises.  I have really been working on this.  I still plan a lot of things in advance, but I have tried to be more conscious of planning too many things.  I try to keep a lot of Saturdays open, so there will be time for Cole and I to spend time together, or at least go and do our hobby of Pokemon together. 

However, I don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about how important it is for God to do my planning.  I almost over plan to the point that I don’t necessarily spend time thinking about how God wants me to spend my time.  This will be sometimes when I feel I am too busy when I am getting called to do something in church. I will have too much to do.  I have been called through this sermon to offer my time more to God.  

This can remind me of the verse in Proverbs 16:9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  Plans are not a bad thing.  We can make plans.  We can follow through on our promises, these are very important.  However, it is also important to be aware of what God has in His will for us.  We need to be willing to change our plans and our steps when the Lord calls us.  This is being willing to listen to his thoughts before we make the plan initially.  Spending time in prayer before we establish big life changes and plans is important and essential for our daily walk with Christ. 

The other way we can play God is with our money.  Money is such an important piece of our life.  It is the currency of how we are able to establish all of our needs-food, water, shelter, clothes, etc.  However, this is also the thing that often controls a lot of people’s thoughts and actions.   For a lot of people, especially today, there is a lot of fear associated with money and paying for things and having security.  

I will be honest when I say I wasn’t  the best at money when I was a young adult.  I kind of just spent money as I wanted when I was working a full time job.  I did pay for my student loans, and paid all of my other bills, but I spent a lot of money on stupid things.  I did give donations, but sometimes I would overgive money on gifts for other people.  Now today, I am working on making a lot of better changes and spending my money wisely and spending time working on my budget plan.  My husband has definitely been a big part of this as well.  He is very wise with money and has taught me a lot of tips and tricks.  

I also have a job now where I teach financial literacy lessons to kids who have grown up in poverty.  I don’t want them to make choices to also land them into poverty.   I want them to put themselves in better positions.  I also hope they don’t let money dominate their lives.  It can be easy to do either when you grow up in poverty or when you grow up in wealth.  It is very important to learn the balance between making wise choices with money while also not letting it become a god in your personal life.  

The challenge for this week is to spend some time in reflection and prayer.  Are there times, you personally try to play God, especially when it comes to things like time and money?  Are there times you believe you can make better choices and plans than God when it comes to money and time? If so, spend some time in prayer asking God to help you overcome this desire to have these thoughts.