We are blessed.  Right now my husband still is gainfully employed, I have had my book published, our children are healthy,  we have cars to drive, and a roof over our heads.   However, things can change in the blink of an eye.  Foreclosure and repossession of vehicles is always a possibilty when money is tight. 

I will admit that our financial concerns have been pressing on my mind, so much so that yesterday when I heard Hank Williams Jr's song Red, White, and Pink Slip Blues I was on the verge of tears.  In the song, he sings of hiding his truck at a friend's  because they are going to need it when they come to take the house away. 

As I thought about that song, I thought too that getting upset over losing material possesions like a home or a vehicle is not really the right thing to do.   Obviously we have worked hard to provide a home and keep a van so we can travel where we need to go, but it is really the most  important thing in our lives? 

If you look to God's Word you soon discover the answer to that question.  When we read about Abraham's story in Genesis we soon discover that he always did 2 things when he moved anywhere.  Firstly, he always built an altar.  Secondly, he pitched a tent.  In Genesis 12:8 we see an example of this, "And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD." Abraham built an altar and pitched a tent.

Abraham always built something permanant, an altar to God as a response to God's promise to him.  The altar symbolizes our consecration and worship to God; our spiritual life.   The tent symbolizes all of our earthly possessions and achievements; our physical and material life.  Abraham always put the altar before the tent because worship must come before blessings can be received.  

 Think about a tent.  A tent has no foundation.  No permanency.  It is transitory by nature.  When you pitch a tent, you aren't intending to stay there forever.  This should be the nature of our physical lives.  Yet so many of us try to make material things into permanent foundations of our lives.  Focusing and stressing out on mortgage payments, car payments instead of focusing on God puts our lives out of order.  We are building our tents and pitching our altars.  I am not saying we shouldn't pay our bills, but we need to focus on worshipping and returning to God first before anything else.   Our souls get along well when God has His proper place in our lives.  When things get out of place in our lives and they seem a mess, its because God is not in His place in our lives.

So how do we build an altar first and pitch our tents second?  If we look to Genesis 35:1-5 we can find the formula for this. First we need to return our lives to God.  We need to rededicate our lives to Him.  We need to make God first priorty in our lives and not the house, the car, the boat, etc.  We need to rekindle that flame of first love of God in our hearts.   Next, we need to reject idols in our lives.  I am not talking about American Idol here.  I am speaking about anything in our lives that has taken God's place.  Anything that has become our priorty above God.  Anything that has robbed us of our devotion to God.  It could in fact, be entertainment like American Idol  or it could be money, people, or even ministry.  We also need to purify ourselves.  We need to rid our lives of any of bad habits and sins that keep us from building our altars to God.  Finally, we need to remember our vows to God.  We must honor God with our vows and tithes. 

Its not an easy path to take, but we must get our priorties in order.  We need to not worry about what tent we are living in.  We need to concern ourselves with building that altar to our God.  If we do so, we will find that He will indeed provide.  We need to strive to build an altar and pitch our tent.