What counts is what you are

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments teach us the principles of how we are to live. In the New Testament, the Beatitudes teach us the heart of how we’re to live. The key word in all of that is the word “are,” as in who we are. Unfortunately, our world is more interested in the word “have”—what we have.

That’s what the secular world emphasizes: what we have. “Blessed” in the original language means to be “congratulated” or “successful” or “happy.” The world says you're congratulated, successful and happy not because of what you are, but because of what you have. If you have “things,” then the world says you’re “blessed.” The world also thinks happiness comes from your abilities, money, cleverness, possessions, good looks, power, or fame.

But we all know people who have a lot of all of that, yet are perfectly miserable. Happiness, the Bible says, comes not from what you have but from who you are. 

ACTION POINT:

Look inside. What’s the source of your happiness? Does it come from superficial things? Or from knowing your heavenly Father and that He is aware of all your needs, even before you ask Him? (Matthew 6:32)

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers