Career. Marriage. Entertainment. Money. Food. Children. Health. House. Education. Clothing. Vacation. Car. Retirement. Each one can be a “good gift.” James 1:17 reveals the Giver. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Those things listed above? They can be good gifts, but they are horrible gods. Treat them as gods and you will be depending on them to do something they simply cannot do.
Meaning can’t be bought with money. Fulfillment isn’t produced by more square footage. Your career can’t define your ultimate purpose. Your 401K can’t yield enduring joy. Physical family can’t replace a damaged relationship with your Creator. These “good gifts” were never intended by the Father of lights to function as our gods. To treasure and treat them as gods is to guarantee that the peace we are all looking for will continue to slip through our fingers.
No thing is capable of being the Foundation of my life, the Sacrifice for my sins, and my Savior in eternity. But the Father of lights, the Giver of every good gift, is capable. And he is willing.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water … your steadfast love is better than life” (Psa 63:1, 3).
May we appreciate our gifts, but worship and build our lives on the only God, the perfect Giver.