Saul of Tarsus had every right to lead a normal life. After his conversion he continued to be a righteous, Law-observing Jew. The promises of long life and abundance of blessings were his. Saul deserved to pursue his trade of tentmaking, buy a home, marry a wife, and pass his days enjoying his family and the work of his hands (Ecclesiastes 2:24).

But Christ sanctified Paul to the work of the Gospel. Therefore this righteous Jew was denied the material blessings the Scripture promises to the righteous Israelite (Deuteronomy 28:1-13).

Paul suffered much hardship as we know. He spent his latter days in prison writing his Epistles. But no human being could estimate the amount of spiritual fruit borne by the Epistles of Paul.

How about you and me? We have a "right" to lead a normal, average life. We can choose to walk in the righteous ways of the Scriptures. The promises of long life and abundance of material blessings are ours if we cease our sinning. We can pursue our "vocation," buy a house, and spend our time enjoying the good things of the world (provided we live in one of the wealthy nations of the world).

But if we save our life we will lose it. In addition, we will bear no eternal fruit. Those persons—perhaps some yet unborn—who would have been created as eternal servants of God will live out their lives in darkness while we are occupying ourselves with making money, buying a new car, mowing the grass, looking for new furniture, and otherwise hiding our spiritual light under the bushels of materialism.

Each member of the Body of Christ has been called to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. In addition he has been given one or more talents by the Holy Spirit at the time of his new birth.

How does the believer, particularly of the affluent nations, determine what his or her talents are?

In the first place, he must recognize that the members of a wealthy culture are at a disadvantage in the Kingdom of God. The Gospel is to be preached to the poor. It is the poor who are the heirs of the Kingdom of God (Luke 6:20; James 2:5).

The abundance of the material environment makes it difficult for the believer to determine his role in the Kingdom of God. The world expends time and energy attempting to convince him he must buy this or that. But he can never possess these "needed" things. They will possess him. They will dictate his joy and sorrow. They will determine the use of his time. They will require his attention and energy.

Each saint must wrench himself away from the distractions of the surrounding culture. He must seize the time and energy to seek the Face of God continually. He must turn away deliberately from the material and seek the spiritual. Such an action requires strength and wisdom on the part of the saint, and God will provide such strength and wisdom if they are requested.

To be continued.