This is the temptation of the devil. You may be of student age, now thinking about where you are going to go to college, what subjects you are going to take, what you are going to focus on. You are a believer in the Lord and you love him and you have got to think these things through and seek God’s guiding hand through prayer. But the devil will come and push you that bit further, so that you not only give the right degree of serious thought, but he will say, ‘Go on, think about it more, think about what this will be like, what that will be like; think about what this will do for you and keep these things in your mind constantly.’ So you won’t have any emotional energy or time or thought for the Lord at all. The spiritual things will become almost boring in your estimation. He has succeeded in making you think over much about these earthly things. I owe my best thoughts and priorities and reflections to my Lord.
The same is true later in life. You go into a new house: you have got to have more space. If you can afford it, that is perfectly legitimate and probably extremely important. It is a tremendous decision, you have got to get it right, the right place, the right everything. Of course, it is going to demand a lot. But the devil is pushing you – ‘Oh, wouldn’t this be nice, wouldn’t that be nice?’ You have done enough and you are still thinking about it day after day. The Lord is put in second, third, fourth place. You have got to ration things, know where the limit is reached; do what is right and do it well but know that limit. Set your affections: control your thinking agenda, know what is likely to happen to you. Somewhere to live, clothes to wear, not too much thought, a vehicle to drive, to keep within bounds. There is that dictum of dear old John Wesley and at first it surprises you: ‘Earn as much as you can.’ Did John Wesley say that? Yes, but listen to what else he says. ‘Economise as much as you can.’ Steward as much as you can, you need it all together.