FIRST-PERSON: Self-indulgence & wheelchairs
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)--The United States is a nation of pleasure-seekers without equal in the world. We build billion-dollar industries to produce items so indulgent and trivial that you have to wonder if we're not a little bit nuts.
Even the tragic events of Sept. 11 seem to have only temporarily slowed down this indulgent drive for faster, more and bigger.
What qualifies as indulgent? Anything that has little or no utility is an indulgence. It's trivial. Every year, in the weeks before Christmas, we see a whole lot of indulging going on. But, the holiday season is only a condensed picture of what occurs during the rest of the year.
Of course, I'm not suggesting that we're to think that all material belongings are bad. After all, God wouldn't give us the intelligence to create such things as toys, clothes and cars, and then forbid us to use them.
God wants us to prosper and enjoy the fruits of our labors. However, in the United States we've stretched this principle beyond the boundaries of common sense. We're always searching for bigger and more unique "stuff" to make us happy.
The vivacious Joni Eareckson Tada has been a quadriplegic since she was injured in a swimming accident years ago when she dove into the Chesapeake Bay. She understands the importance of a wheelchair. On one of Joni's travels to Africa, her Joni and Friends ministry provided wheelchairs to homeless and handicapped people. Some of the people had been impaired by disease while others were missing limbs.
Those she was visiting lived each day of their lives in oppressive heat without even simple comforts. Unfortunately, the supply of wheelchairs she brought to Africa was limited. Many of those people in need were left out of the distribution, including some teenage boys. Nevertheless, instead of becoming jealous or angry, these young men celebrated with the people who did receive wheelchairs.
How could those young men, living in such difficult circumstances, find the will to be happy? A more suitable question might be, "How can people who are in much better circumstances, like Americans, not find the will to be happy in the midst of such plenty?"
The answer lies in King Solomon's wisdom: "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and turmoil with it" (Proverbs 15:16).
Remember that anything you accumulate that has little or no utility to you is an indulgence. Then, does that mean Christians can never have things purely for pleasure? Of course it doesn't. However, expanding your collection of such items should be consciously and diligently controlled. Don't allow pursuing such things to become the norm for you, as many have today.
Are you an indulgent Christian? Well, you might be if any of the following strike a chord:
-- You continually seek something better than you had before.
-- You always must have something bigger or better than someone else has.
-- You find yourself consistently trying to top the lifestyles of others.
And this might be the clincher: You're an indulgent Christian if you're embarrassed by your lavish lifestyle and often find yourself explaining or rationalizing the things you've done or accumulated.
Are you self-indulgent?
If you were in need of a wheelchair and had been left off the distribution list as those young Africans were, would you have rejoiced with those who did receive wheelchairs?
Burkett is chairman of the board of Crown Ministries, which merged last fall with the ministry he founded in 1976, Christian Financial Concepts. A Southern Baptist layman based in Gainesville, Ga., Burkett is the host of the national "Money Matters" radio program and author of two resources published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention: "How Much Is Enough? 30 Days to Personal Revival" and "Jesus on Money."
