Into the Flip Side

I am currently reading John Piper's book "Don't waste your life" (which by the way, you can read for free online at Desiringod.org along with many other of Piper's books). In the book he is talking about the true definition of love and he suggests that we ask our selves "would you feel more loved by God if he made much of you, or if he liberated you from the bondage of self-regard, at great cost to himself, so that you enjoy making much of him forever?" great question.

Isn't this what it is all about? I have a desire to be liked. That is not simply to say that I want people to appreciate me through their words. That means I want to look a certain way, I want to be perceived in a certain light. I want to be thought of a certain way. I want people to see my family a certain way. Some of that is not bad, as long as it is in relation to God. But I am talking about the bad stuff here.

What if I let go of all of that (you know, that stuff that Christ died for)? What if I didn't care what people thought about when they saw my clothes were not name brand, or that I did not live in a house but in an apartment, or that my family shopped at the cheapest grocery store and bought the non-name brand foods.

What if I truly felt most loved from knowing I had been "liberated from the bondage of self-regard"

once that has been done, I would be so free to truly care about the things of this world that matter.

I am sitting here and I can not remember all that I got for Christmas last year except one gift. I got a pass to the zoo for the year. I take my oldest daughter pretty much every week and it is the greatest thing ever.

I found this website that was talking about making a list of the items you bought that you thought you really wanted and would really use that did not measure up to your anticipation, in fact it suggests keeping an on going list.

You know, I could probably put 97% of the things I have ever gotten on that list. That should tell me a lot about advertising, about how I lie to myself, and sadly where my heart is in a lot of areas.

What if I could return for cash all of the items that I had bought or were given to me that I thought I was really going to need and I could give that money to people who were starving today?

what if I could have the foresight to do that now?