Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:2 (NLT)]
The man who does not know where he is is lost; the man who does not know why he was born is worse lost; the man who cannot find an object worthy of his true devotion is lost utterly. [A.W. Tozer]
A firm with whom we do business sends us a newsletter every month. After asking their associates what accomplishment in the last year made them most proud, January’s newsletter shared some of the answers. One man was proud that, after reading up on motors, he managed to repair the family boat by changing the starter motor, another was proud that he expanded his horizons by hiking and rock climbing in various national parks during the year, and a third man was proud that a case he pled had been cited in several law review articles.
The response that touched me, however, was from a man who had just been inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame and named as one of the ten most influential people in his industry. While pleased by those honors, they were not his point of pride. This man was most proud of the fact that he’d made a positive impact on other people’s lives through his work—that people came to him with issues to clarify, problems to solve, or obstacles to surmount and he helped them. He shared that bettering the lives of others is the force that drives him to do what he does. After reading his response, I wondered how I would answer that same question. How would you? Of what are you most proud?
That question brought to mind A.W. Tozer’s words about a wealthy English aristocrat whose obituary read that he had “devoted his life to trying to breed the perfect spotted mouse.” While Tozer didn’t argue with the man’s right to breed spotted mice, he was troubled that a man of means and position would have devoted his entire life to such a task. Of this nameless man, Tozer wrote, “Made in the image of God, equipped with awesome powers of mind and soul, called to dream immortal dreams and to think the long thoughts of eternity, he chooses the breeding of a spotted mouse as his reason for existing.…Surely this is a tragedy.”
Apparently, breeding rodents is not as far-fetched as it sounds. There’s a National Mouse Club in England, the Rat & Mouse Club of America, and a Rat & Mouse Gazette. Every November 12 is Fancy Rat & Mouse Day and every April 4th is World Rat Day. While some people keep mice and rats as pets, I hope they aren’t devoting their lives to their rodent companions. Although mice are often bred and genetically modified to study genetics and human diseases, I hope that even the most zealous geneticists and researchers are not devoting their entire lives to that project.
We’re probably not trying to breed the perfect spotted mouse, but are we devoting our lives to its equivalent? People dedicate their lives to making money, becoming famous, getting frequent flyer miles, climbing mountains, having fun, setting or breaking records, shopping, going to casinos or playing the ponies, having a pristine house, decorating and redecorating, or building collections of art, cars, and Star Wars figures. While nothing is inherently wrong with those activities, none are worthy of our devotion! As Christians, Tozer points out that we have no right to dedicate ourselves to anything that can “burn or rust or rot or die.” We are not to give ourselves “completely to anyone but Christ nor to anything but prayer!”
Rather than having our obituaries tell of our commitment to breeding spotted mice, collecting Labubus, or attending every Grateful Dead concert, wouldn’t we rather have them speak of our devotion to God and of our love for His children? Rather than being remembered for the perfect spotted mouse or an immaculate house, I’d rather be remembered for making a positive impact on the lives of others.
One of the glories of the Christian gospel is its ability not only to deliver a man from sin but to orient him. … The spirit-illuminated Christian cannot be cheated. He knows the values of things; he will not bid on a rainbow nor make a down payment on a mirage; he will not, in short, devote his life to spotted mice. [A.W. Tozer]
In the midst of all the tedious and repetitive regulations regarding sacrificial offerings in Leviticus, we find evidence of God’s love and mercy. For several sacrifices, a distinction was made between offering requirements for the wealthy and the poor. Called korban oleh v’yored, there was a sliding scale for sacrifice based on a person’s economic position. In Luke’s gospel, for example, we learn that Mary and Joseph brought two birds as their sacrifice after Jesus’ birth. Had the family been wealthier, they would have brought a one-year-old lamb and a pigeon or dove and, had they been poorer, they would have brought only two quarts of choice flour.
While the Hebrew word translated as covet, chamad, can mean “take pleasure in,” it also means “ungoverned selfish desire.” Chamad ranges from wholesome delight to illicit craving. It’s not a stretch to see how taking pleasure in something that isn’t yours can lead to desiring it and wanting to acquire it. When David saw Bathsheba on the rooftop, he delighted in her beauty but that delight grew into such desire that he took what belonged to his neighbor. When Achan saw the riches that were to be set aside for God, he coveted the wealth for himself and stole it. When Elisha’s servant Gehazi saw the wealth Namaan brought to his master, he was filled with desire for what wasn’t his to take. Coveting the wealth that Elisha refused to accept, Gehazi chased after Namaan, concocted a lie, and took some of that wealth for himself.
Tithe means ten percent and the concept of the making a tithe is first found in Genesis. After being blessed by Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a “priest of God Most High,” Abram/Abraham gave him a tenth of all the goods he recovered from Kedorlaomer’s army after rescuing Lot. [14:20] After Jacob asked for God’s protection and provision, he pledged a tenth of his future blessings to Him. [28:22]
In 1 Kings 21, we learn of Naboth, the owner of a vineyard adjacent to King Ahab’s palace in Jezreel. A choice piece of real estate, Ahab wanted it for himself and offered to purchase or exchange it for other land. Property, however, wasn’t to be treated as a real estate investment—it was to remain in the family to which it had been allotted. Because Jewish law prohibited Naboth from selling his ancestral land, he rejected the king’s offer. Angry at his neighbor’s refusal’s, Ahab acted like a spoiled child, took to his bed, and refused to eat. Upon learning the reason for her husband’s sulking, Jezebel hatched a devious plan. She arranged for false accusations to be made against Naboth that would result in his immediate death. Jezebel’s evil plot went as planned and, upon news of their neighbor’s death, she told Ahab the land was his and he took it for himself!
Devotions of the Heart 