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Full or Empty?
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Philippians 2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.
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Download audio fileOne of the great paradoxes of life is that the more we try to fill ourselves up – with things, stuff, possessions, wealth, experiences, holidays, entertainment, whatever – the emptier we become.
Of course all those things, the trinkets of this world, they promise so much. Advertising and marketing are multi-billion dollar industries. Corporations spend breathtaking amounts, to dangle their baubles under our noses and entice us to open our wallets.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against commerce and trade. But you would not believe the science that goes into something as simple as the layout of a supermarket, to increase the yield per linear shelf metre. Product placement, colours, signs, packaging – even the colour of lighting, the style and volume of the music, artificial smells. The list goes on.
And so we fall for this stuff, hook line and sinker and whether we like it or not, we become part of the conspicuous consumption culture of the 21st century.
But once we have all those things, once we own that thing that we just had to have – we use it, we wear it, we look at it – whatever … so what? The initial rush fades, but it’s so addictive. So what we do, is we move on to the next thing, like an addict, looking for the next score, that next hit.
Most people in this world – many of them Christians, many of them disciples of Jesus Christ – are on that consumption treadmill, without even realising it.
So what if the opposite is true? What if, the more we poured our lives out for others – who we are, our gifts and abilities, our resources, our time – could it be that the more satisfied, the more contented, the more fulfilled we become?
But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:17)
A libation, by the way, is a drink poured out as an offering to God. The Apostle Paul, before he met Jesus. had it all. Success, status, recognition and the trappings of wealth that went along with it.
But he discovered something amazing after years of arduous and dangerous ministry in the name of this Jesus. He discovered that the secret of being full, is to empty yourself out as an offering to God. He discovered that gladness and rejoicing come when you use your God-given gifts for the benefit of other people and for the glory of God.
It’s one of the great and surprising paradoxes of life. The more we try to fill ourselves up, the emptier we become. The more we pour ourselves out, the more fulfilled, the more satisfied we become.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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