Wise Investments: A Post-Sukkot Reflection
Our financial advisor called recently to review Cynthia’s and my retirement portfolio. Based on last year’s living expenses and our anticipated Social Security income, we determined how much additional revenue we hoped our retirement investments would generate in the coming year. We were encouraged to learn that the right strategy should enable us to achieve our income goal.
Upon hearing this news, Cynthia and I breathed a thankful sigh of relief – “We will have enough.” Not only did we see God’s hand in this provision, but we also saw it in the timing of this good news. It came just days before celebrating Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) and what it calls to mind.
Times of abundance can bring on “Blesser amnesia,” a spiritual malady in which we forget the Source of our abundance and place our hope in something or someone else. God warned Israel of this danger (Deuteronomy 6:10–12) and provided a deterrent against it in the final feast of God’s worship calendar.
Sukkot is celebrated in the fall when the threat of “Blesser amnesia” would be elevated. The end of the fall harvest meant Israel’s grain bins were at their fullest, the picked grapes most abundant, and the fruit of their trees and gardens harvested and stowed for the months ahead. Here, at the height of Israel’s material abundance, God commanded them to leave their homes (and crops!) to gather in Jerusalem to worship and rejoice in Him and live in temporary booths for seven days (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:39–43; Deuteronomy 16:13–15).
There are two reasons I am grateful that our advisor’s call and good news coincided with Sukkot this year. First, spending time in our family sukkah (singular “booth”) made of PVC pipes, vinyl tarps, with a “roof” of tree branches through which the stars are visible at night, we experience what our brick and wood home obscures. Material riches, no matter how great, are frail and transitory at best. The One who knows the stars by name is alone worthy of all our trust and hope.
Second, reading Ecclesiastes during the holiday (a rabbinic tradition) challenges me to see the apparent “vanity” (transience) of life on earth through the lens of eternity. The riches we amass in this world perish and are ultimately of no benefit to us. It is what we do with our lives that matters because in the end we will give an account to God.
As we pass through the darkening days of winter to reemerge at Pesach (Passover, the inaugural feast of God’s calendar), may the lessons of Sukkot pervade our thinking. In a world that is passing away, let our faith in the Blesser grow increasing resilient, and our investment in things eternal more generous.
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19–21).
Written by Dan, Life in Messiah Board member
Are there times when you have succumbed to “Blesser amnesia”? What contributes to that?
How can you safeguard your heart against this malady and give God the gratitude and praise He is due, whether “living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12 NIV)?
As our Jewish friends finish celebrating the fall feasts, we pray that this might be the year they hear the message of Messiah and put their trust in Him. We believe that the time, effort, prayer, and finances devoted to the spread of the gospel are an eternal investment. Would you prayerfully consider joining Life in Messiah in sharing God’s heart for the Jewish people? To know how you can pray for our ministry, we encourage you to sign up for our weekly email updates. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.lifeinmessiah.org/donate.