This world is full of many things. I realize that what I just said is quite broad and is probably known by every single person on the planet. But it isn’t as simple as it may seem. Let me add on to that first sentence. This world is full of many things that we want, buy, sell, and even obsess over. We, as humans, believe that there are certain items that we NEED in our lives, whether we actually do, or we just think we do. Not all things are materialistic though, we also tend to want things like love, a family, a career, and the list could go on. And while I realize how valid these desires are, we don’t see how temporary they are in this lifetime. They may bring us happiness in the moment, but will they bring us joy eternally?

A couple weeks ago, I met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while. One thing I admire about this friend is her love for the Lord. Every time we get together, we almost always end up in a spiritual conversation about our personal relationship with Jesus. Praise God for good, holy friends. On this day, we got on the topic of worldly versus Godly things. There’s that word again, “things,” but this time it’s used in a different context. Now the simple term has a more meaningful word in front of it: Godly. What exactly makes these things Godly and what separates them from the worldly desires we feed into now?

In the book of Colossians it says, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5, NIV). These could be examples of worldly things that not only occupy our minds but pull us away from the Lord. When we get caught up in these impure thoughts, we start to veer off the path away from His kingdom. The desires of the world are not God’s desires, and they never will be, yet it is still hard to let go of them sometimes.

Up until a couple months ago, I was very set on having some of these worldly things. A husband, children, and my dream career were at the top of that list. And while I still desire these things, I want a strong relationship with God even more. These things that I hope to have one day will only be attainable through our Lord and His plan for my life. I struggled at first to let these things go, and I can say that often the thought still enters my mind of what my future will be like. However, instead of just wanting these things, I pray for them. Lord, if it is in your will, then it will be done. I pray over my future family and the plans that He has for me. Whether those plans pan out the way I want will tell with time, but for now I fully trust in His ways.

It can be quite the challenge to avoid wanting to give in to current trends on social media and buy the most popular items being advertised. Most of us think, “well they have it, so I have to have it too.” It can also be challenging to see loved ones or friends with something we had on our wish list. There could be a sense of jealousy or lack of fairness that we feel deep down. I know it can be difficult to let go of earthly belongings but let me tell you something. YOU BELONG to God and that is more valuable than any other earthly belonging out there. We see this realization in the gospel of John with the Samaritan woman at the well.

In John 4, we read the well-known story of Jesus encountering the woman collecting water from the well. If you have never read this story, go read it. It’s powerful, moving, and will probably make you cry tears of joy, I did, that’s for sure. I have read this story many times and have even seen it portrayed on the popular Christian television show, The Chosen, however, last week in Bible study we took a deeper dive into some of the details. While there are many significant and meaningful aspects of this story, I would like to talk specifically about the final encounter the woman has with Jesus. After Jesus tells her that he is the Christ, the Son of God, she begins to head back to the town to tell all the people of the man she just engaged with. The Messiah has told “me everything I ever did” (John 4:29, NIV). But there is a small detail to this story that often gets overlooked. In verse 28, it says, “Then, leaving her water jar…” As soon as Jesus reveals himself to the women, she drops everything she needed, forgets all about her past, and immediately goes to share the amazing truth that just stood before her. Even though she had just met Jesus for the first-time minutes before, she gave up all her worldly tasks and belongings in that moment to follow God. That brings so much joy and contentment to one’s life and we can do the exact same thing today.

I’m not saying that we need to abandon all our belongings to follow the Lord. Of course, there are obvious things that we need in this lifetime, but it is important to not place them above our one, true God. In 1 John 2:15 it says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world” (NIV). If we focus on obeying God’s word and doing His will, then we are setting our mind on things from the Lord. By doing this, we are not only strengthening our relationship with Him, but we are working towards living a life with Him eternally in Heaven. One thing that will always stick with me is this; “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17, NIV). This is the greatest gift of all.