Jim Carrey once said, “I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they know that it’s not the answer.”
That’s interesting considering that Jim Carrey of all actors seems to enjoy life and have all the riches of the world anyone could ever dream of. Why would someone, who’s rich and famous, say something so opposite of most people’s pursuit in life? Perhaps fame and fortune are not all it’s cracked up to be? Before Jim Carrey ever said anything about this, Jesus himself said something about it.
In Matthew 6:19-21 he tells us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Whatever our eyes are fixed on, we will gravitate towards those things because our heart desires for them to bring us happiness in life. Riches of this world will one day be destroyed, yet our hearts drift towards being impressed by worldly things rather than being impressed by the one who gave room for them to be created. It seems that we’ve been more impressed by what God has made rather than who God is.
Glance at Life; Gaze at God
The word “glance” means to, “take a brief or hurried look”. What we tend to do is glance at God, and gaze at life.
The word “gaze” means to “look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought.”
The Bible says that our life is like a mist. Here one second and gone the next. The days are long but the years are short. Life before we know it, will zoom by and we’ll wonder what did we do with our lives? As important as it is in being intentional with our time, money, and relationships, we tend to gaze at life like it has something tremendous to offer us. What we should be doing is glancing at life and gazing upon God.
So often our gaze is misdirected. We gaze upon the things of this world rather than gazing upon the one who created it. The dangerous exchange we make is that our love for things has caused us to lose sight of the love we should have for Christ. Our possessions have never expressed a love for us, we always end up loving it and sacrificing for it. Instead, let us look to Jesus who expressed His unending love for us and sacrificing His own life that we might be eternally happy.
