What the King is Counting

"Not what you give
But what you keep
Is what the King is counting."

     I love that part of the song Simple Living by Keith and Kristyn Getty. At the same time, I don't like how uncomfortable it makes me most the time.
     The song tells the story of the rich young ruler in the New Testament, and the poor widow who put all her money into the offering. Think of it like, if a little kid in your area donated $10 to help a children's hospital and it came to public knowledge, he'd probably get some local newspapers' attention, a bunch of viral facebook "reshare" thingies since everyone wants to share the heartwarming story of this kid who gave everything he had to help others. However, if Bill Gates donated $10 to that same children's hospital and it came to public knowledge, he'd probably get a bunch of raised eyebrows, a pagefull of cartoons about him, and much publicity on how this miserly rich guy gave a mere $10. Of course, the hospital could use the boy's or Mr Gate's ten dollars equally - it doesn't matter to them from whom it came. But people care about other people's motives, where their hearts are in the subject. It's not what you give, but what you keep that matters.

     Okay, so  no, I'm not advocating that you sell your iPhone and your laptop and extra clothes and give the profits from that in addition to all your savings to some charity. If God asks you to do that, that's awesome. It's between you two. He doesn't really need your money though. He needs your time, your life, your heart. Spending 30 hours a week helping out Christian organizations and doing stuff at church won't cut it either. God does want you to help out in things like that, but that's not the main thing He's after.

                      [if you don't like long random parables or butter, skip the next 2 paragraphs]
     Have you ever had an obsession with something? Or someone? Let's say I have an obsession with butter (I might really have one, but let's not go there.). When I wake up, the first thing I want to do is go eat some butter. I start my studying for the day with a block of butter sitting next to my computer so I can look at it all the time, and occasionally pick it up to smell it and nibble a piece off it. It's not that I'm trying to add butter to everything. It's that everything else revolves around my butter. Then sometimes I get separated from butter. It's tragic, really. The whole time, I'm thinking about how much I miss my butter.
     Then there's my neighbor Jim. He's a butter fan too. But he tries fitting butter into his life, instead of fitting his life around butter. He dedicates 2 hours a day to keep butter with him. But when it's not those two hours, he doesn't even think about it much. Life often gets busy, and he forgets about his butter.

     Yeah, I think I might be getting into a bit of a tangent. But I think you get my point. If Christ is truly the center of your life and all you have that is of worth to you, then you should be more concerned about the minutes, hours you spend doing stuff that doesn't directly glorify Him or further His Kingdom than the time you do spend handing out bulletins at church.
     But you know... giving up those moments is hard! It's so relaxing to watch an old cartoon on YouTube and watch Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck argue over what season it is! I mean, what better way is there to spend those tired moments when you don't want to do anything that requires intentional brain activity? (yes, this is a confession.) I'm not saying it's a sin to watch that in of itself. But when we attempt to satisfy ourselves with stuff besides Him? It's great at the moment. But since I really should quit being a hypocrite and get to work, I'll just abruptly stop this extensive rambling with a quote by Sir John Piper:

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.”