Core Power

We in the west have a power in this world that many do not have. This power can drive us and possess us. This power often causes us to do things that we would normally not do if we didn’t have it. This clout moves our society like nothing else. It is woven into the fabric of who we are. We use it as a drug, as an anti-depressant and as leverage over the masses. This influence has many names and most recognize it immediately: it is called purchase power or income beyond basic needs. Virtually all of us experience it to one degree or another. We buy, we spend, we shop, we gather. We do it for pleasure, for therapy, for acceptance and even for sex. I’m sure you can recognize this tendency in your life somewhere. I have fought (lost) this battle many times, I feel down so I buy something like a movie, ice cream, a worship CD or a book.... There we go, all better now!

The picture that I am beginning to see a little more clearly in my life is that I approach God with this perverse consumerist mentality all the time. I’m down so I “buy” a little bit of God in prayer. I’m feeling guilty so I read the Bible more. I fail and I sing a praise song or two..... There we go, all better now!

Am I just a consumer of God? Do I seek him for what he can do for me? Do I follow him because he “fixes” me? The whole mindset is corrupt to the core. I know I run to the religious store on the corner to “buy” a little of God far too often. Jesus, please take this from my life. You alone are Holy and Good and Powerful and Kind. You are not another commodity to possess in post modern America. I am so in need of you, at the foundation of who I am Lord. Help us, help me, to lay it all down everyday.