HOW TO LACK NOTHING - WATCH YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

Nothing communicates the nature of our intimacy with the Lord like our relationships with others. While some see relationships are non-essential, the Bible teaches otherwise. Not only were we created for relationship, but the Lord says that our love for Him is equivalent to the love we have for our neighbors (Bible verse). John makes it even more stringent when he speaks of the impossibility of loving God, who we do not see, while hating our brother right in front of us (verse).

It is clear that we cannot have a relationship with the Lord that is indifferent to our personal relationships. It makes sense, therefore, that David would include this when he speaks of the character of one who lacks nothing. David commands us in Psalm 34:14 to "... seek peace and pursue it." The one who lacks nothing will be the man or woman whose life is characterized by an obsession with peace. I use the word "obsession" because David language speaks an emphasis of peace. We are to seek it and pursue it.

First, peace is to be understood as a relationship that exists without any hint of wrath or division. This sounds far stretched but it is the expectation of the Lord for us. Nothing should exist that creates a wedge between believers nor should there be anything that creates a hint of divisiveness. If we are to lack nothing we must focus on having relationships that are not littered with slander or division. So, David says, seek peace and pursue it.

"But" one might ask, "Is not seeking the same as pursuing?" Not quite. To seek peace David means g to give diligence in making sure that a culture of peace is an ongoing and unhindered reality in our relationships. In other words, "ain't no half steppin'" when it comes to peace. We must be diligent, focused and undeterred in making peace the reality within the Body of Christ. It is the Christ thing to do since, our peace with God is the result of Jesus diligently seeking it in His obedient life and His substitutionary death on the cross. How can you receive this peace and not model it?

To pursue peace means to actually grab hold of it. This means that it is not enough for us to "do our part." No, we must have the heart that says, "if division exists I will not rest until it is gone and peace is experienced, fully, in my relationships." Diligence is good, but diligence that gets the goal is Biblical.

This all makes sense. How can we experience the promise of God to lack nothing if we are not seeking to be obedient to the God who promises? I truly believe that many Christians live in poverty - spiritual and relational - because they are looking for God to do when they are not willing to obey. David sets before us this incredible promise of a waterfall of grace, power and, dare I say, the experience of glory but it is not an empty promise.

If you would lack nothing in 2021 here are the first acts of obedience from Psalm 34:14-15

1. Watch your mouth (v14)

2. Watch your life (v15a)

3. Watch your relationships (v15b)