God did an amazing work in Stephen’s life on a Journey to the Heart this summer. Following is the abridged version of a speech that he has recently written about competing affections.
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Could you imagine a young teenager spending $8,000 and devoting an average of 8 hours a day for three years on a particular activity? This adds up to 3 months a year, day and night!
Today I would like to talk about what I’ll refer to as competing affections. A competing affection is when your love and desire for anything or anyone is greater than your love and desire for God.
Matthew 6:13 says that “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Last summer, money was a competing affection in my life. I was giving out business cards and doing any type of work no matter how hard it was. I made over $1,000 dollars over the summer. This was a competing affection in my life because I was putting so much time into my work that I was neglecting my relationship with the Lord. I was being fearful over having enough money for my future needs. When I realized this, I asked God to help me set my priorities straight. I gave my money to the Lord and He has blessed me and took the burden of my future off my back. I still work because I love to work, but it is not motivated by fear of the future.
My friend Vince who had such an extraordinary devotion to video games explained to me his story. “Back when I was a young teenager I would play about eight hours of video game a day. Believe it or not, I actually spent about eight thousand dollars in video games. The reason why I don’t do this any more is because God has opened my eyes and shown me how much it had become a competing affection. I was putting God on the side and my own will on the throne of my life.”
What freedom there is when you give your affections to God and live for Him instead of money, relationships, idols, or even video games!
~ Stephen
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November 8th, 2009 at 1:00 am
It is good to see that God is continuing to bring forth fruit in your life!
November 9th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Thank you for the encouragement, Stephen.
Peter
November 11th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Way to go! Thank you for sharing so transparently what God has shown you was hindering your walk with God. May God continue to lead each one of us to a closer relationship with Him by revealing things that are hindering our walk.
Don’t be discouraged if it seems that God keeps showing you things that hinder your walk because “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).
Keep walking in the light!
November 12th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Thanks SO MUCH for that Steven! I didn’t get to know you that much on the Journey, but what I did see was very encourageing and challenging to me. I thank God on every rememberance of you, making sure to always to pray for you. (Romans 1:9, 10)
Your story is similar to mine, in the sense that making “enough” money was a HUGE competing affection to me. I was holding down a job that gave me some income during my school, and I was constantly fretting that I didn’t get more hours than I did.
Over the course of having that job, I made several bad choices with what money I did make out from under my parent’s authority.
I have since asked God to give me wisdom to spend it all HIS way, and asked Him to help me remember that TRUE generosity is looking at the ultimate resources of GOD alone. Since then, God has given me an ever growing ability to TURN my eyes from beholding vanity, that He may quicken me in HIS way. (Psalm 119:37)
His grace IS sufficient for THEE!
February 26th, 2010 at 4:22 am
[...] November, livingthejourney.com posted a speech about competing affections that Stephen wrote after God did a deep work in His life during a Journey to the Heart. Following [...]