Is Jesus Enough?

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;what can man do to me?”

The pharma times reported today that more than 20% of the US population took some sort of mental health drug last year. For women that number is more like 1 in 4. 30% of Americans abuse alcohol and almost 1 in 10 are illegal drug users. The CDC reports that 1 in 3 Americans are obese.

Why? The answer underneath all of the effects is that we are not content with Jesus, as the author of Hebrews challenges us to be. I know that there are specific traumas in which specific meds maybe helpful for a specific time, but I meet people all of the time that appear to have everything that one could want (except Christ) and are turning to chemicals and alcohol for relief. I used to be one of them. People turning to alcohol, illegal drugs or over eating, are all looking for something to heal their soul and provide a divine contentment that the world's challenges can not remove. The text above challenges us to be deeply anchored into Christ and receive a peace and contentment that plow through fears, trials and challenges like an ice beaker. Only God working through His spirit can provide that for any of us including yours truly. Do you belief that Jesus is enough?

One of the primary reasons that we are scrambling for things other than God that provide a temporary chemical or metaphysical peace, is that our culture is buried in debt as we again have ignored God's revealed wisdom to "keep our life free from the love of money (and stuff by implication)". Recent studies show that around 80% of Americans are in debt to creditors, and that as a whole the American consumer base has borrowed 119% of their incomes. So as we blindly ignore God's word, and want and buy more and more stuff, we sink deeper into the quicksand of debt and our anxieties and depressions mount. The oh-so temporary great feeling about the new car, home or couch is soon replace by the reality of having to spend your life paying back banks and credit card companies. This debt enslavement is getting heavier for many Americans leading to depression and for some to even take their own life.

So let's examine our hearts to see how content we are with Jesus. If we are content in our identity with Him, our love for Him will trump our love for money and stuff that drive us deeper in debt. Once we see our resources as God's, to build His kingdom and not ours, we can experience the Joy of obedience financially and be freed from the yoke of debt that is choking us.

Their are some who are reading this that the Lord's spirit has touched by His word. How do you start to unwind this wicked blend of debt and depression/anxiety? Start with asking God to forgive your disobedience to Him, and ask Him to draw you nearer to His heart and provide a divine contentment with Him. Without that anchor and peace, your temporary efforts to find true freedom in Christ will look like someone trying to stop a raging forest fire with a water gun.

I want to be clear that there are times where borrowing done responsibly is clearly justified. I also know myself and others around me to know that the vast majority of stuff purchased in the US is a result of a lack of contentment in one's life. I pray that we all find that contentment in Christ alone as the Holy Spirit points us to through the author of Hebrews.