Ironic or perfectly reasonable...about money...

I didn't go into reading John Piper's Desiring God with a list of things that I figured would be convicting, but it did end up surprising me that the area of greatest conviction to me lately has been what he said about the use of money! I'm currently reorienting myself to a perspective that will, appropriately, view the needs of the many lost and dying in the world as being a higher priority than any desire I might have for expanding my "professional wardrobe." LOL! In some ways, this has been more relieving than convicting, though...like I have permission now to think from a more eternal perspective. I don't have to worry so much about fashion because that doesn't have the same eternal impact. I've been unfashionable all my life and I will probably remain so. (Don't blame that on John Piper! LOL!)

Anyway, I just thought I'd mention that as I go on to prepare for today. It's 6:15 A.M. here and I would like to leave soon...or at least get a good, long list of things done before I leave.=)

Announcing...

My 16 y.o. brother received his ACT results today...and he got a composite score of 30. And he's disappointed...or so he says, as he prepares for his junior year of high school. What do you do with a kid like that, anyway?!

Would it really be easier any other way?

I have been so bored at work lately that I have had a great deal of time to think about what I'm going to do next. Actually, I've been bored at home, too, so I have had even more time to consider my educational goals and personal desires.

A thought, one that I know is wrong, has been "teasing" me (annoying me, I suppose) for the last several days: Wouldn't it be easier if I could just decide everything based on logic instead of having to submit all of my decisions to the guidance of the Lord? No, the thought wasn't in those words, but it was there. I talk to various people on a regular basis and some of them have a very logical mindset, I guess. I would call it worldly, but it's not necessarily 100% temporal. They can decide, "I will save x amount of dollars so that I can spend it on this particular item." Or they can determine that they will, for instance, go to law school and, hopefully, become a part of a successful firm.

But for me (and perhaps for any other Christians) the answer isn't quite so simple. I might think I should save x amount of dollars so that I will be prepared for the future, but the possibility exists that the Lord will want me to invest that money in something of eternal value instead of "saving it for a rainy day" (or for whatever I might have in mind). I might think that going to law school would be fun and even profitable--financially and in terms of service preparation. But I can't just come up with a logical plan and say, "Okay, this is what I'm doing" because ::lightbulb:: I'm not God! God truly is sovereign, omniscient, and good...and only He is capable of directing my path on the basis of those attributes. He may use various means to direct me, but only He really has the big picture.

I don't know exactly why I'm saying this except that I realized, as I thought about it, that it's really NOT easier to follow one's own logic. After all, such logic may be flawed and the knowledge upon which the decision is based may be insufficient for making a good long-term decision. Rather than trusting my life to the frailty of human reasoning, I should submit my decisions to the One who knows all things. Short-term plans might be easier to set by logic, but long-term goals will be most effectively met if I'm walking in the Lord's will step-by-step, as He directs. If I'm walking in obedience, I can trust Him to orchestrate the circumstances for His glory (actually, He'll do that anyway, but I want to be walking in harmony with His will because I desire to have that kind of relationship with Him).

Hmm...sorry if this is a bit incoherent. Maybe I should have thought more about it first. But the main thing is that temporal values don't really have a positive impact...and I seem to have a hard time remembering that.

EDITED FOR CLARIFICATION: I don't think logic is bad; I just think that it's more logical to trust the Lord than to trust in myself exclusively. Does that make sense?