Beloved,
Every week I go into the grocery store to get one thing: avocados. Can you think of anything that combines robust flavor, smooth texture, healthy fat, and essential nutrients quite like an avocado? That is a rhetorical question. The obvious answer is, No!
Last year, I ate an average of 1-2 avocados a day. But I find myself eating them less and less, and in large measure that is because of a word we have become all too familiar with. Inflation. Just a year ago, I was paying a whopping 78 cents per avocado. Last week, my jaw almost hit the laminate floor at Walmart when I saw they were marked at the “always low price” of $1.28. All that to say, I now think twice before I enjoy an avocado with my fried eggs!
Whether filling up the tank at BP or searching for a house on Zillow or buying groceries at Walmart, we cannot purchase anything without feeling the effects of inflation. It has become a source of anxiety and depression for some (“How am I going to feed my family?”). It has become a source of anger and aggression for others (“Biden is an ignoramus villain!”). I confess at times my soul has been marked by a mixture of such feelings (though I don’t suffer from the tendency to shake my fist at the President!).
What is God up to in all of this? Why would He will these extreme price increases?
Well, I can’t give a comprehensive answer. God always has countless purposes in His purposes. But I can tell you what God has been doing in my own heart. He has been using inflation to expose my inflated ego and to grow me in humility. How? In at least three ways.
First, He has used inflation to expose my prideful sense of entitlement. The thought that often comes to mind in these days is, “It’s just not fair!” My heart is telling me that I deserve better than this: “Other generations didn’t have such a hard time buying a house (or an avocado!). Why does it have to be so hard for me? I’m a hard working pastor, a law abiding citizen, a faithful husband and father. I deserve better!” Is that mantra familiar to you? It is an anti-gospel, works-based mentality. My performance earns my blessing. But the reality is that as a fallen sinner the only thing I am entitled to is hell. Every square-foot of house, every bite of avocado, and every drip of gas is an undeserved gift from a gracious God. Inflation has helped to fuel my gratitude to God by delivering my from the arrogant notion that He owes me anything. He doesn’t, and yet He gives and gives and gives.
Second, God has used inflation to expose my prideful sense of identity. The larger and nicer houses are now out of our financial reach as Tessa and I look to buy our first home. Being confined to looking at smaller, older, and quirkier homes has helped me to see that one of the predominant reasons my heart wants bigger, newer, and designer is so that people will think I’m something great, and even envy me. My heart is attempting to find its worth in a piece of real-estate. It is looking to the creation, rather than the Creator for its value. Inflation has opened my eyes to this and helped me to more firmly root my identity in Christ, not in the house I occupy.
Third, God has used inflation to expose my prideful sense of security. I used to draw comfort from the money in savings. But with prices soaring, the dollars in the bank don’t give me the sense of protection they once did. I feel financially naked and vulnerable, and it is driving me to God who is my refuge and strength.
Inflation has been an unwelcome means of grace in my life. How about for you? Is the pressure on your wallet causing you to grow in the downward disposition of a Godward self-perception? Or is it causing your soul to shrivel up in angry, anxious, godless arrogance?
Inflation is a glorious opportunity to deflate our naturally puffed up hearts. It is a lesson in the school of humility. But I sincerely wonder how many Christians will learn it. May we be among those who do!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick