Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell
Jan. 11, 2012

“Wanting What We Want
” “She (wisdom) is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her." – Proverbs 3:15 (NIV, emphasis mine)

The last part of that verse says, “…nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Meaning wisdom) As an adult I have spent many years collecting and accumulating things – thinking that someday some of this stuff might be worth something. And even though I really know better I find it increasingly more difficult to part with certain items. What is even worse – I always seem to want (or desire) more. I don’t have the time to enjoy what I have now let alone having time for more – but make no mistake, I always seem to want more.
From the very beginning – mankind has always wanted more. The first sin was the deception that God was cheating Adam and Eve from having everything that should be theirs to have. Reality was they had everything they needed but when desire was planted in their minds the battle was lost. A battle we have been fighting ever since. I may have used this illustration before – but I believe it aptly applies here for this message. Andre-Francois Raffray, a retired lawyer in Arles, France, made what any reasonable businessman would say was a sound financial decision. According to the Chicago Tribune, for a five-hundred-dollar-a-month annuity, he bought the rights to take over an apartment in Arles, on the death of its current resident. The woman living in the apartment was Jeanne Calment, age ninety. Actuarial tables predicting the math-matical probibilities of Jeanne Calment's life span were clearly on the lawyer's side.
Thirty years later and $180,000 poorer, Raffray had still not moved into the apartment. On Tuesday, February 21, 1995, Jeanne Calment celebrated her 120th birthday. She was verifiably the oldest person in the world. Each year on her birthday she would send Raffray a card that jokingly said, "Sorry, I am still alive!" Raffray died two weeks after Calment's 120th birthday.
I do not believe that “desires” in and of themselves are wrong. Wanting more for our lives should always be a goal to strive for. It’s only when our wants or desires drive us away from the things that are of greater worth that we find ourselves in unwanted territory. “Wisdom” (the kind that Solomon has been telling us about) is that element that knows the difference between need and desire and more importantly, where to draw the line between the two!
In fact, we recently had a garage sale. The things that we have held onto for years and the things we thought were so important we sold for a mere fraction of what we originally paid for them. So if you want to know how valuable your stuff is have a garage/yard sale . You might be surprised how much your “treasures” were really worth!
Pastor J. T. Carnell