Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
(Excerpt From Life Isn’t Rocket Science, by Jeff Canfield, D. Min)
So many in the world today want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to live selfish lifestyles, while ignoring the principles of the Word of God, and then have eternal life in heaven after they die. What they don’t understand is, with God we can have our cake and eat it too. However, God’s “cake” (e.g. His commands, plans, and purposes) is a different kind of cake. It’s not full of worldly ideas and lusts of the flesh. His food is spiritual food which satisfies the soul. With God we can enjoy life to the fullest, and then afterward spend eternity with Him. The best part is, we won’t spend half our lives with our faces in a porcelain suction hole because we had “one too many.”
A life spent pursuing worldly things, only satisfying the flesh, becomes very dull after a while. Additionally, a person who lives his whole life pursuing fleshly satisfaction will end up as Proverbs 6:26 says: “…reduced to a crust of bread.” Why? The things of this earth have an innate ability to rust, deteriorate, and then fall apart. Even our physical bodies go back to the dust from where they came.
Proverbs 23:4-5 tells us: “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Wealth has a funny way of taking wings and disappearing. We cannot trust in riches. We must put our trust in God. In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” His thoughts should become our thoughts. Then, in Matthew 6:19, Jesus said:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (emphasis added).
What do we treasure most in life? Do we treasure worldly things, or do we treasure God’s Word and His presence? Like anything else, it’s our choice and no one else can make it for us. We must choose a godly kind of life. We can enjoy our inheritance as children of God while not striving to keep up with everyone else. We can enjoy the peace of God in our lives as we delight in His word, abide in His presence, and store up treasures in heaven through obedience to Him. We can even choose godly prosperity without the notion of having to keep up with the Joneses. Let’s allow God’s will and His work to be our food. When we begin to enjoy those things, then we will have our cake and eat it too.
Dr. Jeff Canfield’s background and experience includes six years in the Army National Guard, eight years in municipal law enforcement, and seven years working directly with delinquent youth. Jeff has served faithfully in pastoral ministry since 1999. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois Police Training Institute, Rhema Bible College, and holds a Bachelor’s in Religious Science, a Master’s in Applied Theology, and a Doctorate in Ministry. Jeff is also the author of over fifteen books including two novels. Most importantly, he has been married since 1989 and has two grown children.