When I was growing up, on the surface, my family was well off. My parents had respectable and well-paying jobs, had two cars, and lived in a generously sized suburban home in a quiet neighborhood.
Yet having material success did not equate to peace and love in our home. Our home was filled with conflict, animosity towards those whom we were supposed to love the most, and jealousy. There was always a sense of wanting more; never having enough. Everyone blamed one another.
The apostle John writes, “Yet if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).
Photo by Joshua Sortino from Unsplash.com
Not surprisingly, God was not a part of our home. Our hearts were so closed against one another that there was no space for God. Personal gain was more important than laying down one’s life for the other. Jealousy of other people’s possessions dictated decisions. There was no room for love in any of our hearts.
We were living in a state of spiritual death since we allowed sin to consume our hearts.