Whose house is this?

My family and I have lived in the same place for many years.  It's a 20 year old development, pretty non-descript, but we love it!  We have a NTUC supermarket 2 minutes walk away, a small shopping centre 5 minutes away, a larger one 7 minutes away, lots and lots of shophouse eateries around us, and we can jog to the beach (can you believe this picture is from my morning run??).

It's a small place, and we keep very few things at home, which means that in even all the years the children were growing up, we never needed a helper, which is great.  Even better, about 10 years ago, we actually managed to get my parents to move in to a unit in the same block, which means we get to see each other all the time!

But one of the problems of having successful colleagues and acquaintances is visiting them and seeing their places.  And whoa, some of those places are pretty amazing - like, seriously can get lost trying to find the toilet.  I once even saw a huge place for which *geography* was almost relevant - relief, drainage, vegetation... about the only thing missing was local weather patterns! [Picture above is for illustrative purposes only...]

Then there are the sort-of-compliments when people come to visit us of course - the half-second pause before concluding, with a watery smile, that our place is "cozy", "quaint" and "convenient".  OK, definitely all true :D

A few months ago, the wife and I happened to see a couple of places, and for a few precarious weeks, we thought about silencing the little whispers in our heads when we saw some of the places around us.  Like, that's a pretty nice view hmm?

And then we saw this one.  Whoa.  The whole house was one awesome architectural art piece.  The dining room is like a museum setting for some art installation.  There are hanging staircases.  Light pours in from the ceiling 3 floors up.  There's even a *mezzanine floor* for projecting movies onto the wall for goodness sake.

For a few wild moments, we actually seriously considered it, because let's face it, the place is pretty stunning.  I mean, you only live once, as they say, and it would be thoroughly satisfying to scratch that itch and do the extravagant, make me happy thing.

Then, thankfully, sanity prevailed in the morning (this is the benefit of morning devotions and spending quiet time with God - suddenly all the stupid ideas melt away :D).  This would force us to keep working for years and years more - don't get me wrong, I love my work, but when you live simply, you retain the optionality to move on if somehow something changes in the workplace, and you conclude it's no longer the right thing to stay.  It would also prevent me from deploying the money I do have to the things that matter more - whether it's to other family members' needs, or the ministry of the church.  If God calls me to spend more time or money or effort on something else or in someplace else, then I need to be in a position to listen and obey, and not have to say - later Lord, after I pay this loan off.

And, of course, most critically, who's actually going to mop this monster of a place?  XD

As I (somewhat regretfully, I admit) put away the picture of the incredible art installation dining room, another thing suddenly occurred to me.  The Bible describes the Tabernacle (essentially, sort of a mobile temple of God, which the Israelites used to have to carry around while they were wandering in the desert), as comprising an outer courtyard, then an inner compound called the Holy Place, then finally the innermost section inside the Holy Place, called the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant, which manifested the presence of God, was kept.  The picture above describes it better than my words.

And I realised the house we saw was sort of laid out like that.  A big courtyard, then you go inside the living room, where there's a separate glassed-off section for the dining area.  And I heard the question being posed to me - *whose house is this*?  When someone looks at this picture and sees you enjoying your life and eating in that beautiful dining room, *who is enthroned - you or the Lord*?  My church friends had also recently shared about some mission work in a nearby country, and the need to equip a village school with better facilities and financial support for the kids.  *Whose house will you choose to build first*?

Look, absolutely no judgment on those of us who have nice houses.  Whatever people say, I objectively believe I am already super blessed to live in a nice place, so I'm in no position to judge.  If you can afford it, go for it.  If you're a multi-millionaire, and a big house and ranch is a minor proportion of your wealth, and won't hold your life choices hostage, knock yourself out.

But for me to effectively tell the world, my friends, colleagues and neighbours that so much of my life and resources centre around where I physically live?  That's... not gonna work.  Maybe one day, who knows, I really will be in a position to make this sort of choice.  If that ever happens, great.  But until then, I gotta make sure my life chooses my house, and my house doesn't choose my life.

Thank God that He speaks so clearly and powerfully, and that He saves me from wacky choices!

"Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins?"  Haggai 1:4

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