Day 233- Invest Wisely
📖Daily Reading
Luke 21
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
Luke 21: 1-4
“While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.””
34““Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing* and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,”
*dissipation ESV, surfeiting* KJ
Investing wisely is not always a clear cut matter, especially when it comes to all of our resources in life; our time, money, energy, things, thoughts etc.. I watched a great TED talk once from Sarah Knight called the Magic of Not Giving a F*#%. Now I have a caveat here, her talk is NOT from a biblical perspective, but it does very succinctly and very impact-fully get the message across about what it means to invest our resources with alignment to our values. So I am going to take her concept and add a biblical perspective on top of it.
In a nutshell, whatever you spend your time, energy and money on, aka your ‘f#*%k bucks’ 💵 represent your priorities - or do they? When they don’t you will have what we refer to in the psychology world as cognitive dissonance or a divided heart or mind in the Bible. Which is exactly what v 34 is saying above. Be careful don’t let your heart be dulled by carousing, dissipation or surfeiting depending on which version you read. Carousing means lacking restraint and indulgent behavior, dissipation means spreading your self thin, surfeiting is similar- meaning an immoderate indulgence or disgust caused by excess.
Often when we turn to indulgence, drunkenness, excess, and indulging in the worries of this life we feel spent. This is a feeling of being out of control and we often turn to these things to cope, to help us to feel better temporarily, to numb out from the overwhelm or to ironically feel more in control. The woman in the first passage gave or spent everything she had as an offering, but paradoxically this was a wise investment because it was in alignment with her values, even though she had nothing I bet she slept more soundly or had more peace in her heart because she was living in integrity and not being dulled by the worries of this life. She chose to invest with her heart and in eternity vs indulgences, drunkenness or worrying and her contribution to the collection place demonstrated this.
The warning against indulgence, excess, drunkenness and worrying is a warning to invest your life resources wisely. My particular indulgence, excess, drunkenness and worry that I am still working on is co-dependency. At the time of writing this in 2022, I quit drinking alcohol nearly three years ago. I soon learned that I was over drinking alcohol to cope, my real problem is/was co-dependency, that is what I am in ‘recovery’ from. Did you know that the word drunk also means to be dominated by an intense feeling, it can be an autopilot area of life for us, where we just don’t even really think we just acting out of an underlying belief, desire, drive or habit.
So drunkenness can literally being changed by being drunk from alcohol or it is a state of mind where your mind isn’t really in charge. That is why many people who become sober from over-drinking alcohol, over-eating, over-spending, over-(fill in the blank)ing if they don’t do ‘the work’ to find out why they were turning to this over___ing behavior are often referred to as ‘dry drunks’. They will often just transfer their behavior to something else or keep operating mindlessly in things like co-dependence is for me.
This will be a lifelong journey for me, this behavior was passed down through the generations and is culturally encouraged in women and in the church. I am in the process of becoming the focused, aligned and woman of integrity that this poor widow is such a beautiful example of and learning invest all of my resources wisely. She knew who she was because of whose she was and she did not let her heart 💜 become dull.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
How does this reflection land with you?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Luke 22
Coaching Opportunity
Let's make 2024 the year of YOU by laying a solid foundational mind set! The world needs what only you have to offer! Give yourself the best gift ever, the best version of you is ready to rise & shine!
Book your free📞Wake Up Call today to learn if this is what you have been waiting for!
If you have stuck with me this far, then you are not reading this by accident, I believe God has a plan for you and is calling you forward!😉🤩
CONNECT WITH ME
Subscribe to Rise & Shine✨Together Daily Encouragement
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/felecia.b.holmes (personal)
Rise & Shine Together Private Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1093183278239989
You Tube: Rise & Shine Playlist
|