Starving

 I read a couple of things and would like to share them. Have you ever read something, and someone's name just pops into your head? I never really know why. So I chalk it up to God's leading. The gentle nudges He gives to let me be a part of His work.

The first one came from Proverbs 27. The chapter talks about interpersonal relationships. And a few verses in, the author drops this - A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry. Why can we complain about someone and yet keep going right back to them? This is why - we're hungry. And even a bitter relationship tastes sweet.

I was wondering how this tied in with what I read today - Matthew chapter 6. A light bulb just went off while writing this. The theme of Jesus' talk is look at God. Long for things from heaven - long term spiritual health. Let the temporal things take care of themselves. No, that's not quite right. Rather let God take care of the temporal things.

Several times, Jesus says they have received their reward. He's talking about people who do things to impress other people. Jesus tells those listening that they should do impressive things in secret. He's not saying hide away. He's saying that our motivation is God's praise, not the recipients or people watching.

This is hard. I struggle all the time. It feels good when people tell you that you're doing a good job. And those emotions love to just run wild. I have to make a conscious effort to bring myself back to God's way. It's ironic, because God will ask other people to praise and encourage us. That's part of the mechanism that He uses. The hard part for me is letting initiate it, not me.

Okay, back to the tie-in. When our value comes from other people, eventually we starve for more. And to a hungry person, even bitter, rotten relationships taste sweet - as long as I get what I want. And there's the rub. When my value comes from God, an eternal, never sleeping, never failing God, then I'm always full. I have the luxury of picking my relationships. I choose, rather than being driven.

There are a lot of different directions to go with this. I've already deleted 3 paragraphs. I think this is a good place to stop. So what do you think about all this?