Yesterday, we meditated on 2 Corinthians 6.14 and concluded that the “unequal yoke” might include being sucked into the values of the age we live in. Here’s a poignant paragraph from the book Dream Small by Seth Lewis, son of Bruce and Elena Lewis, lifelong friends of ours. Seth tells the story of a wealthy man, discontent with the size of his mansion.

I remember visiting a friend who was retiring after a highly successful career. By any measure I could think of, he had done well. He was well known in his field, and his opinions were well respected wherever he went. While not fabulously wealthy, his family was well-off compared to most. As he showed me around his expensive home, he said, “All of my colleagues have bigger houses. I feel cramped here, but I’m looking at getting something bigger soon.” I said nothing, because what could I say? His small house was almost three times the size of mine. – Seth Lewis, Dream Small: The Secret Power of the Ordinary Christian Life (p. 5).

Jesus spoke to the problem a long time ago:

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. (Luke 12.15 – 23, ESV)