Wealth Doesn't Satisfy

Wealth Doesn't Satisfy "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" Matthew 5:6 We have just endured a year of campaigning for president of our United States, and heard promise after promise telling us that we deserve more and more from our government. All the talk is that our wealth will be taken away, and that our future is looking dim. Do you remember what the innkeeper said to Joseph when he sought shelter for Mary? "No room!" Can you imagine the grief in Joseph’s heart as he looked at Mary? She was going to give birth soon. There were no hospitals to go to, and no room for them in the inn. They had to look about until they found an outbuilding or a cave that housed animals. That’s where Jesus was born … in a lowly stable. It wasn’t like the beautiful nativity scenes we see displayed in store windows or on coffee tables today. Jesus couldn’t have been born in a place more crude and unlovely than where He was born. To clothe Him, there was no baby layette, just swaddling clothes, just rags. But Joseph and Mary didn’t complain about their lot. They didn’t protest. They didn’t demand something better from God. This simple scene contradicts modern standards of living and human values. We have the mistaken notion that luxury, comforts, and gadgets are essential to the development of character. If that were true, don’t you think God would have provided them for His Son? But He didn’t. For in His wisdom, He knew character is developed by concentrating on that which is spiritual and moral, wrapped up in His love. O Lord, may I make room for the Christ of Christmas in my heart this season. May I look past the tinsel and glitter and stay focused on the birth of Your dear Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen. My Daily Devotional Volume Six July 27 Robert William Brock, Jr.