What Are You Chasing | Crossroads Daily

Hey, good to be with you. I'm Chuck. I'm Kirsten. I'm Chris. I'm Alex. There's a lot in this chapter. There's a lot that's covered but I think that whole idea of the love of money and this whole idea around contentment is what really sparks for me and for that. I love to just talk about it. So I want us to all just say I have enough. Just say it out loud. I have enough. I think that you are rich when you can actually say that. Yeah, and the interesting thing is you can say that at different levels of income. Yeah, you can say that at different levels of wealth. You can say that at different levels of struggle. I have enough. I think there's something there that's elusive for sure, but also really enlightening if we can get there. So here's the question. The question is where in your life are you saying I will be content when... and how far has that line already moved for you? So while you're thinking about your answers, I'll give you mine. Never forget this. When I was in college, me and my buddies used to say, dude, if we can get to a place where we make $80,000 a year, we're good. Like, you know, I mean, you're poor college students, right? And you're like, dude, we can just make 80.

We're good. And I remember I worked at P&G before I worked at Crossroads and let's just say I got to 80 pretty quickly. And I didn't feel like it was enough. Turns out. That was not the magic number. That wasn't the magic number, right? That line had already moved for me. It was 90. Yeah, it turns out it was 90, right? And that's what I thought. So, I mean, I just, I've seen this over and over in my life with all kinds of things. If I can get to this status or this title, if I had this experience, then I'll have enough and the line just keeps on moving. So how about for you guys? Where are you saying? I'll be content when and how's that line move for you? I immediately had my job come to mind and how I was in a job where it was very seen and a lot of praise and there were like always things to strive for. There was always a next project that was bigger than the last and working with more people up in leadership and all the things and it felt really good. And then I made a job change to less visible, no projects to like gauge success off of. It was just like more of a hitting a nail on the head every week type of role. And I remember being like, oh, I was so content in that other role. Like, why am I suddenly like stirred up and not content?

Like, do I just need a role that is project-based and constantly going towards the next one? I was actually convicted this week of this topic because God opened my eyes to all of the, I'm trying not to use like churchy words, but like truly fruit that is happening in this role. Like my mom and her fiance who were not going to church before I came to this job and now have been coming weekly are now wanting to get baptized together. And it's like, why is that not what brings me to be content? If it is only to see God use me in this place, that should be what gives me contentness. Not the selfish things that my brain and my flesh say are what will make me content. And I'm being really challenged because I still don't feel like settled, but I know God is like rooting me. And so I just am like surrendering, I guess, like to what contentness could look like and not actually just wishing it away and wishing to go back in time. So a little roundabout answer to your question. My like kind of funny one that immediately came to mind when you said like, where do you, did you say like, where do you feel like you don't have enough? Yes. Basically immediately in my mind. I went to sleep. At home right now. So it's like sure you that's probably true for you. It's sleep just period. I have nothing else to say about that. I think like where I might that's like my kind of funny answer

because I do think that's my reality right now. Like I'm just tired and need coffee, but also like where the challenges is. I do think I use it as an excuse of like, well, once I have enough sleep, like once my baby is sleeping through the night or once she's only waking. waking up once, then I will have more energy to wake up earlier in the morning and start my day right. Or then I will like insert the blank. I feel like I use it as an excuse for actually everything. Then I'll show up to work on time or like whatever it is. So I think that's where like the challenge is for me is because I do think that even if it's a reality of something for you where you might actually not have an up of sleep, it can still become an excuse. Yes. Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, I love that you put that too because contentment doesn't mean I actually have as much as I want, right? Right. Contentment means that God makes up the difference somehow. Yeah, that's so good. That's so good. Yeah, and I do frequently pray for miraculous energy, which I feel like we pray some things like that. We're like, God, give me energy. And I don't know if the like me physically, I'm just not like, I like all of a sudden feel better. But I do get to the end of my day and I'm like, oh, I actually was able to do the things

that I needed to do today and meet the people that I needed to meet and show up for my family in the way that I did. And I wonder if because I went to God with that thing, if he actually filled in the gap for me in the way that I needed him to. So that's so true. The designs of babies have to be to like call on God for our daily bread, because sleep, eating is taken away from me. Like all the things that we need to survive, it's like, ha ha ha, nothing for you. It's like, oh yeah, daily bread is a literal prayer. We were given by Jesus, so yeah, that's good. Yeah, I think my answer is if life is perfect, then I'll be good. And I know that's like so broad, but it's just like, yeah, like if I can get so confused when any disruption happens throughout my day, any inconvenience, someone treats me wrong in some way, and it's like I need the perfect life set up to then be like, okay, now I can love God fully. Now I can be kind to others if everything in life is going completely smooth. And the reality in scripture, like nothing is really guaranteed on paper. Like my life could be on paper awful, and it doesn't change that God is good. And I feel like I know if I clung to that truth, that reality, that like,

if there's the one thing I'm promised in life is that I get to be with God forever, and he lives inside me now, I know the days that I live into that truth, it doesn't matter what's happening. Like I'm good, but it is so easy just to be like, okay, well, if everything else was perfect too, that would also help. But then I just forget God, and I just don't talk to him when stuff's great, so. I wanna, one of the things that I have been so convicted by and so grateful for is getting a chance to spend time out of the American context in third world countries, where people just have way less material things, right? And when you spend time with people who have way less materially than we do, and you experience their joy and contentment in life, it is so convicting because it reminds me of how much my joy is contingent on stuff, on things, on perfect situations, whatever it is. And I mean, it goes to what you said, like, if in this life, I have all suffering, but God is with me, and I gain heaven forever, that actually, you are winning. It may not feel like you're winning, but you are winning. And I think that's why Paul says, godliness with contentment is great gain, right? There is something there, but it's not easy to live that every day.

It's certainly not easy for us in a world where, you know, look on your social media feed. Everybody else is getting more stuff. Everybody else is having new experiences. So our bar is so off anyway, because we're comparing ourselves to literally a time in history that most humans who've ever lived have never experienced. So let's ask ourselves the question then, where are we pursuing more, but it's actually costing us peace? I think I stretch myself too thin. Like, I feel like I need to say yes to every opportunity that comes my way, or to every person who asks me to coffee, or even when we're thinking about like ministry and wanting to care for others around us, and like, I wanna help everyone and do everything. And that I think comes at the expense of where I actually need to invest a lot of time and attention and just spread myself too thin. So that feels like a really broad. answer, but I think, I think like outside of even material things, it's like opportunities. Like I want to say yes to every opportunity and every friendship and every person, and I physically cannot do mentally, like spiritually, emotionally, like I cannot do all of those things. So I think it costs me where there could be deeper investments or deeper relationships or an opportunity that could be better if I was able to like fully, you know, engage with it if I wasn't doing like all these other things.

I think I struggle with that. Yeah. No, you're reading my mail. You're reading my mail. Hey, you know, it might be interesting as an action, you're watching today, you read today, say no to something that looks like more this week. I don't know what it's going to be. Might be, hey, there's another commitment you can make. It might be, oh man, there's another opportunity to earn some additional money or, or man, there's another opportunity to go and have this fun experience. Just say no this week and let's just see what God does with that no. Yeah. Because godliness with contentment is great gain. Yeah. I already have a physical calendar invite that I can just delete all of my, it's easy. Physically, hard, mentally, yes, yeah.