Too much!

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs (Isaiah 58:11).

Life can get confusing because there’s just too much of everything.  Too much information.  Too many choices.  Too much stuff.

Thanks to the Internet, we have access to more information than ever before.  Used to be you had to go to the library to look things up, and they had a limited selection of books on hand.  Now you can go online, search on any topic, and get flooded with results. 

We have a bewildering array of choices presented to us.  Which brand of peanut butter should I buy?  Which outfit will make the best impression when attending a staff meeting or going out on a date?  Where should I live, work, attend church?  

Most of us struggle between owning stuff and being owned by stuff. Do you find yourself shopping when you don’t really need anything? Do you struggle with getting rid of stuff that you don’t use anymore? Do you frequently daydream about products you don’t have and can’t afford? 

America is a land of plenty, and most of us have a great deal to be thankful for.  Yet gazing at too many options can actually cause problems.  We get paralyzed by concern over not making the best possible choice.  The incredible variety of opportunities we face distract from what is truly important—our relationship with God and our relationships with each other.

There is way more information floating around than any one person can get a handle on.  Thankfully, Jesus reveals what is truly important—His everlasting concern for our well-being.  His words, preserved in the Bible, give us every bit of information necessary to make good choices in our lives.  His wisdom helps us to see what is really important and separate it from unnecessary distractions. 

It’s actually quite simple: you and I are sinners, people who instinctively prefer bad choices over good ones.  Jesus is the Son of God who gave everything He had to forgive our wrongdoing and make us His. He teaches how love and serve and show respect, and He offers eternal life in paradise. In the end, that’s all we really need.