Oftentimes the only way to get what you really need is to give up what you already have.
It doesn't seem to make sense but it's true. This is a particularly difficult concept to pull off in such a materialistic world because our society uses money and material wealth as a measure of our value as people.
More people are up to their eyeballs in debt than at any time in our history. We are bombarded by advertising messages telling us that we need the latest new toy, gadget, shoes or designer jeans. We literally cannot escape the buy, buy, buy message. Everywhere we turn someone is trying to sell us something, trying to convince us that we aren't good enough if we don't buy whatever he or she is selling. And when the advertisers aren't hammering home the you-are-nothing-without-the-latest-product message, the people around us make us feel inadequate if we aren't wearing the right clothes, driving the right car, living in the right neighborhood, sending our kids to right school, even owning the right breed of dog.
This mentality has driven people who can ill afford to have the latest products into debt to get them. Some people have even turned to stealing to get them, all so others will accept them. Even very young children will cry and beg for material goods. Children innately trust their parents to take care of them and have no drive to collect material possessions,
ed hardy clothing, yet we see younger and younger children demanding (and sadly, getting) designer toys, clothes and the latest electronics.
Children are naturally satisfied with three simple things: nourishment (food & water), shelter (a place that's warm and dry) and attention (love and attachment to parents and family). Amazingly, children from poor families, who are getting those three needs met, are happier and better adjusted socially than children who have every material thing they could want. We have created an artificial drive for material things in our children by exposing them to television and advertising messages too early, and by allowing our own lust for material goods to color their view of the world. When we place too much importance on outward appearances, we shift our children's values off of developing themselves to possessing things. Being kind or funny isn't enough anymore unless you are wearing all the latest fashions.
Parents believe that they are just giving their children what they never had, but the real question is do they need it?
Studies have shown that the more toys and games a child has the less likely they are to engage in play with any of the toys. They are less satisfied than children with fewer toys are, and most alarming,
cheap jeans outlet, they are actually only interested in the acquisition of more toys, not the actual toy. This early exposure to extreme materialism sets up a hunger for more and more that can never be satisfied by anything, including love, caring, affection or even relationships. Materialism actually harms children and fractures family structures because the emphasis goes from people to things. Children with lots of toys are also three times more likely to break or destroy other children's property because nothing has a value for them.
Unfortunately, we don't reach adulthood and suddenly realize we are too materialistic; we continue to escalate in our need to acquire and to scorekeep using material possessions. Somehow we never have enough, and by extension, we are never enough without the right possessions. Relationships are measured by what others can give us, not what we can bring of ourselves to a relationship. In all the materialism we lose our essence and our spiritual compass.
When we become disconnected from our natural selves, we are unhappy. This unhappiness starts as a tiny inkling that something isn't quite right but we can usually distract ourselves enough to ignore it. But as time goes by,
air max 90, we begin to feel very uneasy and more unsettled even when we supposedly have everything we want. Eventually, this unhappiness manifests itself as a deep loneliness, intense discomfort, bubbling anger or a self-destructive urge to do something, anything to feel like we are alive. This is the moment you realize you've lost your connection to yourself. You don't know how to stop the pain you are experiencing because no matter what you buy, where you go, what you do or who you are with, it just doesn't make you feel any better. It's time to turn to the one thing you can't buy. God.
We all come into this world with absolutely nothing and we all leave with absolutely nothing. What happens in between is just a manifestation of what God allows. A dead rich man is just the same as any other dead man or woman. The Bible even says that it's harder for a rich man to get into heaven than a poor man. What that really means is a rich man who lives for material wealth and not to help others is not getting into heaven. Some very rich people will have no trouble getting into heaven because of their generous charitable giving during their lifetime. You really can't take it with you, but you can take the generous spirit with you, and that will open the gates of heaven. Even the poorest man has something to give to others - himself.
When your life becomes so painful you realize your money and your stuff can't take away the pain,
cheap purses, this is the exact moment God asks you to be willing to give up everything for him. And in return God will take away your pain and give you peace. Notice I said "willing to give up," not "give up." Your willingness to trade every material thing you have for a relationship with God is all God wants from you.
Some people aren't willing to give up their material life but want the peace only God can give. Usually God helps these people by taking everything from them to humble them. Isn't it better to give God your stuff (which is really his anyway since he owns everything) than to keep living in pain. God always gives back to those who love him so it's a win-win proposition. God's love is a peace that can never be taken from you and you won't miss the stuff because you won't need it to feel accepted ever again. Now that's a priceless gift.