Lights, Cameras & Superficiality

"Do not love the world or what is in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For everything in the world - the craving of the flesh, the greed of the eyes, and people boasting of their superiority - all this belongs to the world, not to the Father." - 1st John 2:15-16

I have to say that this verse reminds me of the Lindsay Lohan's and the Paris Hilton's of the world. Being in the right scene, having the right clothes and accessories, sucked them into a world where all that exists for them is superficiality. Someone like Britney Spears is losing her children but still manages to hit the Hollywood hot spots the same day as her trial. It's not that God doesn't want us to go out and have fun, it's that there are people who turn this into their entire lives. They live to be on the scene, going out, being seen, being admired. Their hearts are in the wrong place. They are Godless people and not because God has abandoned them, but because they have abandoned God, making themselves their own Gods. Thinking themselves better than others, never thinking they need God or anyone else. God cannot reside in the heart of such a person. You know there is a deeper meaning to our lives than just being on the scene. Get right with God because when the lights stop flashing, He is the only one who remains there for you. When the lights stop flashing, you are left alone with your own mistakes to try to clean up after. And when the lights stop flashing, is it honest and fair for you to then turn to God?

And it's such an easy thing to get sucked into. I just read that we know we are in good standing with God if our conscience and what God wants align…and we know very well that if we think about it, there are things we are doing well with and there are things we can improve on. Remember, you ONLY need to see yourself the way God sees you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, it's very hard to resist the desire to be seen with the right people and have the right accessories. Help remind me that at the end of the day, none of this matters except what You think of me. In Your Name we pray, amen.