WHAT IS YOUR PORTION?

“O Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup” (Ps 16:5). “The men of this world…..have their portion in this life” (Ps 17:14).

Two worldviews; two destinies; two portions. Every man must be on one road or the other. There is no such thing as the middle way when it comes to life’s journey. Throughout history false philosophies and false religions have tried to forge a mediating way between these two roads. One of these views is a road that says the way to life is to make reality what you say it is. Another says there are no transcendent truths and therefore there are many different roads that will end in the same place. One view even disseminates an idea that the pathway cannot be known, so why bother even looking. The Bible, however, knows nothing of these mediating pathways to life. God’s book presents every man’s life as going in one of two possible directions. Only two. In the very First Psalm God lifts up these two pathways for all eyes to behold. God wants men to know these two paths. He hides nothing. There is the way of the righteous, a weighty life that grows near the living streams of God and produces much fruit. And there is the way of the ungodly, which exists far from God in the distant threshing floor, a weightless existence which is like the chaff which the wind drives away. How then do we know which path we are on? The answer to that involves answering a simple question, “In what portion do you delight?” We all know what a portion is. If a group of people go to a buffet restaurant, each one will return to the table with a different combination of foods. What occupies each person’s plate defines who that person is by observing his preferences. A man who hates vegetables will not return with a plateful of salad. If a man loves meat, the prime rib will be stacked high. The Bible looks at life as plates that have upon them only two possible portions. The first portion is called the “world.” This plate is varied and loaded with all kinds of meats and fruits and dainties of every kind. This portion contains most everything the world has to offer, its opportunities, its entertainments, its appetites, its toys, its joys, its philosophies, its goals. The man who owns this portion gets up every morning desiring everything he can see horizontally. That is, he loves whatever exists this side of heaven. He may not obtain all he wishes, but he yearns for it nonetheless. His portion never consists of things eternal. His mind never dwells on things above. Heavenly dainties make him sick. What happens after he is done eating is no concern to him. He only enjoys his portion in the here and now. He eats to the fullest. His plate is loaded with all the good things of the world and that is enough. He is happy. He is satisfied. Now see the second type of man. He returns to the table with a portion of an altogether different character. It is rather plain and one dimensional. His appetite is severely limited. His plate has but one dish, God. This man is not distracted by all the other things the restaurant has to offer. He knows what he loves and he loves it with a single-mindedness. He has tasted of God and wants nothing else. And even though he must exist in a world with many choices his thoughts constantly drift upward to the one and only thing he truly loves. Because he loves God he also loves everything that reminds him of God. He loves the Bible, he loves prayer, he loves God’s bride, the church, and he loves deeds of righteousness. God is his portion and though it can be rather tasteless at times, he knows it will grow tastier over time until that day when he enjoys that portion perfectly in heaven. He eats knowing the chief enjoyment of that portion lies in the future. No other portion does he crave; no seconds, no thirds. God is enough.

So I lay out this simple question to my reader. What is your portion? Do you want the world and all its glamour and glitter and glory? Or are you happy with a single portion full of God? Just look at your plate and you will know everything about yourself. And what is on it will determine where you are headed after the dinner is over. It’s as simple as that.