CONVICTION

I've been convicted lately of my materialistic desires. Now that I have a decent job and I'm a single guy with no family to worry about and making much more money than I ever have, I can't help but think about all the cool stuff I can now buy: Clothes, furniture, electronics...the list goes on and on. I know that some of these things I "need", but I can't help feeling convicted. I just got off the phone yesterday with Pastor Edwards, the senior pastor of the church I'm going to. I shared with him my passion for reaching the lost in the St. Louis area. It's a very unique place. One minute you can be driving by these really nice homes and new developments, and the next you think you took entered a scene from New Orleans. Broken down homes, apartments crammed with large families just trying to make it by. As I started thinking this morning, I began to wonder just how comfortable someone who lived in poverty would feel about entering my home, with uncomfortable IKEA furniture and a 42" LCD television and stupid decorations that are just going to be out of style in a couple of years. Granted, I need SOME furniture in my place...I'm literally leaving Des Moines with only 2 car-loads of my stuff. No bed. No dressers. No sofa. But I'm going to be very careful in the decisions that I make when purchasing items for my home. Plain. Simple. Efficient. That's all I need.