The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve loved learning about plants and gardening. It’s quite a skill to learn how to care for a plant. It’s not just the effort to make sure your plant has enough sunlight and water, but you must also protect it from pests and disease and make sure it has great soil, too.

The wicked are often mentioned in God’s Word as people who pursue wealth and boast in it—finding their peace and security in their belongings. We are warned over and over again not to become jealous of what they have, because accumulating things in this way is meaningless and harmful. Sometimes, Christians can read passages like these and quickly conclude, “Got it! Having nice things is bad.” But this isn’t the case either. God often blesses His children with good things, and the enemy would love to heap shame on us and make us feel unworthy of receiving and enjoying God’s provision when it comes. So where is the line? How do we know the difference?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve experienced several rounds of saying “never,” then regretting my words later. I’ve done it enough to now preface my “never” statements with: “I know… never say never… but I highly doubt I’ll ever…” Sometimes life throws us curveballs we don’t expect. Other times, we disappoint ourselves and make bad decisions we never thought we were capable of.

Paul’s letters to the church are so important for us to read as the church today. There are so many lessons in the words he wrote to the early church that still apply to us today. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul was addressing arguments within the church over what kinds of food were okay or not okay to eat. They were caught up in the details—but Paul noticed the root issue. The solution to the problem wasn’t found in who was right or wrong. Instead, it was found in keeping a posture of love toward one another, staying true to their personal convictions while also being respectful of others who had a different opinion.