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N E I L   A N D E R S O N   D A I L Y   D E V O T I O N A L
             from Freedom in Christ Ministries

October 20

THE EQUATION FOR WHOLENESS

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and
many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and
destruction (1 Timothy 6:9).

In his book The Sensation of Being Somebody, Maurice Wagner
expresses a false belief in simple equations we tend to accept.
He says we mistakenly think that good appearance plus the
admiration it brings equals a whole person. Or we feel that star
performance plus accomplishments equals a whole person. Or we
believe that a certain amount of status plus the recognition we
accumulate equals a whole person. Not so. These equations are no
more correct than two plus two equals six. Wagner says: "Try as
we might by our appearance, performance, or social status to find
self-verification for a sense of being somebody, we always come
short of satisfaction. Whatever pinnacle of self-identity we
achieve soon crumbles under the pressure of hostile rejection or
criticism, introspection or guilt, fear or anxiety. We cannot do
anything to qualify for the by-product of being loved
unconditionally and voluntarily" (Maurice Wagner, The Sensation
of Being Somebody, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1975, p. 163).

If these equations could work for anyone, they would have worked
for King Solomon. He was the king of Israel during the greatest
years in her history. If a meaningful life is the result of
appearance, admiration, performance, accomplishments, status, or
recognition, Solomon would have been the most together man who
ever lived.

But God also gave the king an extra dose of wisdom to interpret
his achievements. What was his commentary on it all?
"Meaningless! Meaningless! . . . Utterly meaningless! Everything
is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV). Take the advice of the
wise king: All the stuff and status you can acquire don't add up
to personal wholeness. Millions of people climb those ladders to
success, only to discover when they reach the top that they are
leaning against the wrong wall! The only identity equation that
works in God's kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and
meaning.

Heavenly Father, I affirm that nothing in this world can make me
more complete than I already am in Christ.


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