Consumers in the frenzy of time?
Abel is murdered and Seth is born. He names his son Enosh, which means “weak or frail man.” Awareness of their own weakness and dependence drives believers to prayer: “At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26). The story of Cain’s descendants, by contrast, is quite different: pride and self-confidence dominate the world. They build cities and increase their possessions without asking for God’s will (Genesis 4:17–22).
We are all in danger of making our lives as beautiful as possible in a world where the Son of God became poor and had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Does that fit together? With a few clicks, you can spend a lot of money on beautiful things that make life easier before you know it when shopping online today. Do we really take the time to check whether this is also God’s will? How quickly it happens to us that we do not ask for God’s will and simply adopt the lifestyle of the world. The exhortation “Do not be conformed to this world” is highly relevant in our fast-paced times!
The Son of God becomes human and “dwells” among people (John 1:14). When everyone goes home, He goes to the Mount of Olives (John 8:1). There, the heavenly stranger spends many nights while serving people during the day (Luke 21:37). It is far from His mind to accumulate possessions in this world. On the contrary, He lives a very modest life and is nevertheless content because God is His inheritance (Psalm 16:6). When feeding the 4,000, He gives thanks both for the seven loaves (Mark 8:6) and for the small fish (Mark 8:7) that are brought to Him. On another occasion, when He is given five loaves and two fish, He looks up to heaven with dependence and trust, gives thanks, and hands them to His disciples (Mark 6:41). Although He generously distributes grace so that there is abundance, He is also careful that nothing is wasted, and so He instructs His disciples to gather up the leftover pieces (John 6:12).
How can we show in our lives that we are not following in the footsteps of Cain’s descendants? Does our consumer behavior reflect our heavenly disposition? In what way is the Lord Jesus our role model in this area?
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