Lord, I am convinced that You want me (and all Your disciples) to be as carefree as possible. The life of discipleship is a life of gradual disencumberment, whereas the life of the worldly minded is one of gradual encumbering. The true disciple does what Paul’s captain did—unloads the cargo. But the earthly minded man keeps adding cargo as long as he lives.
The self-centered life naturally multiplies its cares because it multiplies its desires. One pleasure must give way to two, and one piece of worldly goods must eventually produce many. The result of all that self-gratification is not peace of mind but increased anxiety. Jesus called that anxiety “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22, KJV). Cares are produced by desires, and desires are born in the naturally selfish heart of man.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must strike at the heart of worldliness. It does not lie in things, but in the desire for things. I must not crucify my desires; I must direct them. Only desires that are manifestly displeasing to God must be crucified, but all other desires must be purified by the washing process of prayer (Mark 11:24).
Desires that have been purified lead to a holy carefreeness. When God answers my desires, He does so without adding sorrow (Proverbs 10:22); but when I seek my own self-gratification, I sow the seeds of bitterness. The world is full of boredom and ennui because those are the fruits of a self-centered existence. When I find my gratification in self-denial for Christ’s sake, I find myself marvelously stimulated with the excitement of an eternal adventure. Self-denial is practical immortality to be realized now and to be enjoyed forever! If I seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and all its right ways, all things will be mine (Matthew 6:33).
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6– 7).
Daily with the King 