How He likes it

What would you rather, a job that pays little but that you like, or a job that pays much but you do not like? This week my roommate needed to do an interview for an assignment and this was the question she asked me. I replied that a job that pays little but that I like is what I would prefer. However, I recognize, that most people in this world want a job that pays a lot of money to be able to get a lot of materialistic things whether they like the job or not.

For school I am required to read a book entitled Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. In the few chapters I read it talked about unthankfulness and selfishness. I have been blessed to be adopted and grow up in a middle-class home where I had my needs met. “They [everything we are and everything we have] came from God…” (Bridges 80). Words cannot express how thankful I am to be adopted into the family I am in. “Taking for granted all the temporal provisions and spiritual blessings that God has so richly bestowed on us, and so failing to continually give Him thanks, is one of our ‘acceptable’ sins” (Bridges 81). So often people take things for granted and can be selfish with their money and material things. “A third area of selfishness is with our money. Surveys show that Americans, who live in the richest nation in all of history, give less than 2 percent of their income to charitable and religious causes…” (Bridges 104). Sadly, people do not give out of love, instead, they use their money for their own selfish ambition.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIFog12aGls)

A song I came across on the radio that is on the billboards top 100 ranking #6 is called “I like it.” The artist of this song is so selfish and describes all the things she likes that make her happy. “I like it like that/I like dollars, I like diamond/ I like stunting, I like shining/ I like million dollar deal/I like texts from my exes when they want a second chance.” She lists so many things that she likes and that please herself. I am so surprised that a song that is a list of things that one popular artist likes, hit the billboard. In contrast, another song that has been popular on the billboard is the song entitled “You Say.” This song is by a Christian artist who explains how a person is valuable, worthy of love, and precious. “You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing/ You say I am strong when I think I am weak/ You say I am held when I am falling short.” This song is about encouraging, empowering, and pointing others to Christ. It is not about selfishness and materialistic things.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZvKJl1kK8g)

I have been very blessed and am thankful to God to be raised in a home that taught me to value and be thankful for the things God gave me. “… every dollar we receive, even when earned by our work, is a gift from god. We are to be stewards of that money and not consume all or most of it for ourselves” (Bridges 105). This is what my Dad taught me when he explained tithing to me. The money and things I receive are a gift from God and to be used to give back to Him. I am not going for a job that pays well, working with children in ministry, but it is a job I enjoy because it is using my gifts, talents, and money for the glory of God.

One way of overcoming selfishness and refocusing on others, not yourself, is to serve. Serving can help you be thankful for what you already have. An example could be Water Street Mission located in Lancaster City that helps homeless people.

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