True Value... No, Not the Company

The Lord has blessed exceedingly beyond all I could ask or think. I haven't really made it public because it really isn't of importance unless God, by His grace, allows me to use it for eternal purposes... but I bought a house a little over a month ago. It has been an interesting process for sure... tons of work (but fun work!)... and I've found that I can't leave Lowe's without spending like $100+ on "essential things". It's amazing how fast everything adds up. It's been well within my budget thus far, but it's still crazy when you get down to the little details. Anyway, I thought that today would be a good day to share this because I was reading in Psalm 49 this morning and I think for me personally, the process of buying this house and thinking through everything in new ways has caused me more than ever to think about material possessions and what place they ought to be in my life. I wanted to share verses 16-20 of Psalm 49:

Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him. Though while he lives he congratulates himself— and though men praise you when you do well for yourself— he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light. Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish.

I almost want to just post this on my wall in my house... in fact, I may actually do that. It sounds crazy, but I need big Biblical thinking about the "stuff" of this world. Yes, I am enjoying making it nice, but I want to keep an eternal perspective in mind as I think about it. Am I making it nice so that I can "congratulate myself" and others will "praise me"... or am I making it nice so that it can be more pleasant to be in and serve the Lord better in serving others in the form of hospitality? It's not wrong for people to compliment hard work, but if this is my motivation in doing what I am doing, I am doing it all for the wrong reasons. It must be done to glorify the Lord. I am in constant need of the Lord's work in my heart to cause me to think the way I ought to think about "stuff". I am thankful for the continual reminders that He has given me (this one included). So the true value is not in the house... it will burn someday. The true value is in it being used for the glory of God to make a difference for eternity.