Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”
Our Bible verse for today: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Quality of life is more important than quantity of possessions.”
Many years ago I learned one of the most important lessons of my life. At that time I was a Naval Officer serving as the Chief Engineer on a naval warship. As a Department Head, in charge of the largest department on the ship, I was two steps below the Commanding Officer in the chain-of-command. If I had continued my career in the Navy my next promotion would have made me an Executive Officer and after that, Commanding Officer of my own ship. So my career was going well.
But I was tired. At that point I had spent almost twenty years in the Navy. Much of that time had been spent away from home. My two oldest children grew-up with me gone much of the time. Now, if I were to continue with my career, it would mean more years at sea and my two youngest children would grow-up without me too. So I decided to cut my career short and retire from the Navy. I had no idea what I would do instead, but I was a Christian by then and I knew God had a call on my life, so I stepped out in faith and retired.
It was the dumbest financial decision I ever made. In the twenty-five years since then I have never come close to earning the salary I was getting back then. And let’s not even talk about the money I would have made had I continued getting promotions and climbing that ladder of success. And then there’s the issue of what my retirement pay would have been had I stayed in the Navy another ten years and retired at a higher pay grade.
But I wouldn’t change that decision even if I could. After I left the Navy I discovered I suddenly had the time to do all the things a husband and father was supposed to do, and I loved it. Then the Lord sent me to seminary and has allowed me to be the Pastor of two wonderful churches in California and now another in Tennessee. Beyond that, He has given me the privilege of leading humanitarian relief teams on mission trips to places all around the world.
As I look back now I realize that although there was a big financial price to be paid, the overall quality of my life actually skyrocketed and I ended up with a much better life than I would have had if I had continued pursuing the military promotions and the higher salaries.
I would like to claim that I was wise enough and spiritually mature enough at the time to have planned this all out in advance, but I wasn’t. It all happened because Matthew 6:33 is true. I simply had a general sense of what I believed the Lord wanted me to do and I then stepped out in faith. God took care of the rest. As a result I can tell you from personal experience that quality of life is far more important than quantity of possessions.
Our lives often become defined by a relentless pursuit of career success and financial security. But those things don’t necessarily give us a good quality of life. In fact, often the exact opposite is true. Don’t be afraid to trust God and follow His lead, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense in worldly terms.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 