However, with each downward reach, the father's grip on the hand of his son grows weaker. He knows that he cannot hold on much longer. Then in a firm voice the father says to his son, "Indiana, let it go." It was apparent to the father that his son could not reach up with one hand and reach down with the other one. It was only when he stopped reaching down for the cup, and reached up to put both hands in the hands of his father that the Indiana Jones could be pulled to safety. The life of the son was saved because he heeded the advice of his father who said to him, "Indiana, let it go."

Today that is what God is saying to some of us in the face of our covetousness. "Let it go. Put both of your hands in My hand. Be content with the things that I can provide. Do not reach one hand down and one hand up to Me. Let it go!" What we need most in life is not what we acquire while reaching in directions that pull us away from God. The things we need most will come to us if we are careful to keep our hand in God's hand and be content with what the Lord provides.

This tension between covetousness and contentment is what is at the heart of the teaching of Jesus who says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." If we would just trust God to supply our needs and take the time we would spend worrying about how to get something more and just turn that time into service to God, what a difference that would make.

Please notice that neither the Bible nor I am suggesting that we should have no ambition, or not aspire to a better life, or not be able to enjoy the best things this world can offer. All that is being said is that we need to be careful not to spend so much time seeking after things that we leave no time to seek after God. That is exactly how covetousness leads us away from contentment.

I have recently been reading Against the Tide, the autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell Sr. Many people are aware of the work of his son, but not as many people are familiar with Dr. Powell Sr. He was born in 1865, one month after the end of the Civil War, an illegitimate child to an Indian woman and a German slave owner. He lived in a one-room log cabin with 17 other people. His first 10 years were spent as a sharecropper. After that he worked in a coal mine. For 10 years the only piece of clothing he owned was a used flour sack that scratched his skin all night and day. He says in the book that his earliest memories were of poverty and hunger.

However, by the time he retired from the ministry in 1937, he was the pastor of the largest Protestant congregation in the entire world with 14,000 members. How did he get from log cabin to leadership? His answer is that he never worried about getting there. He said that he kept his mind focused on Jesus and the gospel, and he believed the promise that said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" Hebrews 13, and the whole of the New Testament calls upon us to believe that the Lord will take care of His people if they put their faith and trust in Him above all else. Perhaps the things that are most important in life will only come when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And as for everything else, maybe we should follow the advice of the film and just "let it go!"