Last year I asked for more.

I had one insane financial goal, and I asked God to help me meet it.

He did.

And then as a friend so astutely pointed out, because God is my loving Father, ever since he has allowed me to experience the abundance I asked for, I have found it to be more trouble than gain.

The security I thought it would bring has proven false.

The freedom I expected has only revealed new forms of bondage.

Misplaced trust in the security I hoped to experience has been a glaring reminder that everything pales next to God.

And if I’ve fallen again, I wonder, friend, if you might be in danger of falling too. Jesus told a scurrying Martha who was focused on her house and a meal, “Few things are needed—or indeed only one” (Luke 10:42).

That one thing is not a house free and clear or a million-dollar nest egg or the key to putting your kids through college debt free. It isn’t a manicured yard, a patio set, or a car.

That one thing is the one thing that Jesus wouldn’t take away from Mary and can never be taken away from us—our relationship with him.

To another man who was focused on the injustice of the dispersion of his inheritance (or lack thereof), Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Our dear friend Doctor Luke, who recorded those words, could never have imagined the insanity of materialism in the U.S. or how easily even committed Christians would fall again and again into that trap.

“Watch out!” is a warning recorded not just for the man but for us. Greed comes in many forms, and our intense and selfish desires for wealth, power, food, or anything else will naturally leave us with more world and less of what matters. More stuff but less time with the people we love. More responsibility but less time for kingdom work. And the more when it’s worldly always leaves us empty.

Eventually you may, like me, find yourself asking for less and working hard to get rid of the more you thought you wanted.

Last year I asked for money. This year I asked for ministry. Last year’s money brought temporary pleasure and very fleeting security.

I’m ready to work for eternal gains and heavenly treasure.

Thank you, Jesus, for once again turning my wayward heart back to you.