Grace Gifts

Father, we're very good at noticing the sins of other people,

and we're not very good at seeing our own sin.

And we're very good, Father, at seeing the horrible sins of other ages.

Father, we can be shocked that Christians would have ever owned a slave.

But, Father, we can be completely and utterly, not can be,

we are, Father, completely and utterly blind

to the way that our own age and our own culture shapes us.

And leads us into sin.

Father, a sin that if your son tarries in 100 or 200 years,

people will look at us and say, how on earth could they do that?

Father, we want to live pure and holy lives that please you.

We ask that you would gently but deeply lead us and guide us into all truth.

Help us, Father, not to be conformed to this age,

but be transformed by the renewal of our mind.

That we might live as disciples of Jesus, gripped by the gospel,

who are bringing you glory.

And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I've had, over the years, I've heard some really remarkable conversion stories.

I'm just going to share two of them with you very briefly,

with the emphasis that definitely do not try this as a means to get to know Jesus.

The first one is a fellow, both of these are people who no longer come to the church

or some of the previous churches that I serve,

so you don't have to look around the congregation wondering who it was.

And the first one was a fellow who was very, very heavily into drugs,

and he went for a drive out in the country, and he took some acid.

He parked by the side of the road, found a really nice spot, and he took some acid, LSD.

And he had a mom who was a believer in Jesus who was praying for him quite fervently.

Those of you who are familiar with church history, he had a Monica who was praying for her wayward son.

And while he was stoned, and he'd been stoned many, many, many times in his life, he had a problem with drugs.

While he was stoned, Jesus came to him.

And Jesus came to him, and the fellow told me after this, I met him about six months after this, he'd become sober.

Jesus came to him and talked to him.

And the fellow said this was unlike any other trip or experience that he'd ever had,

that somehow or another he knew that this was real, and that Jesus came to him to call him to be his own.

And, I mean, he didn't give up drugs instantly, but he got sober.

He became a Christian, got involved in a church.

I know another young woman, and she told me about how she came to faith.

And she went to another city and rented a hotel room.

And she rented a hotel room because she was going to commit suicide.

And she had tried to think of a way to commit suicide that would inconvenience the least number of people.

And she felt that she didn't have any friends in the world.

And she didn't want her mom to find her body.

So she went to another city, rented a hotel room, and had enough drugs to kill five people.

Because she did the research.

And she took all the drugs and lay down to die.

And as she's lying there, because she's going to sleep, she has a dream.

And she meets Jesus, who calls her and says he wants her to be his child.

And the next morning she woke up.

She didn't die.

Like, enough drugs to kill five people.

She didn't die.

She became a Christian.

Eventually cleaned up her life.

Now, you can see why I'm telling you,

definitely do not try either of these things yourself as a way to meet Jesus.

Unfortunately, I've done lots of funerals for people who've committed suicide.

And some of them buy lots of drugs.

So definitely do not think this is what you do to meet Jesus.

But sometimes, for whatever reason,

God will use very, very unusual ways to bring people to himself.

Now, the question that, in a sense, for each of these people,

after they become a Christian,

the question could be, and the question that they both had was,

well, what's next?

How shall I, like, what do I now have to do to live?

In both cases, I only met them, like, in one case,

about a year after the person became a Christian.

Another one about six months after they became a Christian.

But, like, how do we live?

After you have an experience like this,

or after you come to know Jesus, like, what's next?

How shall we then live?

Most of us, maybe all of us,

have either far more common stories about coming to faith in Jesus.

Some of us have probably grown up in Christian homes,

and we've, in a sense, always had a faith in Jesus.

But the question is still a really good one,

like, well, what's next?

Given that we've given our lives to Jesus, what's next?

How shall we then live?

So it would be a great help to me

if you would turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

And we took a break for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday,

but we're still going through the book of Romans.

We're going to finish it in a couple of weeks,

or six or seven weeks.

And when I preached on Romans chapter 12, 1 and 2,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

as you're trying to find it in your Bibles,

that was the Sunday that we had.

Remember the time change in 9 a.m.?

So I'm just going to, we're going to read Romans 12.

Even though Nora didn't read verses 1 and 2,

we're going to begin by reading verses 1 and 2.

And Paul wrote, just as you're turning to it,

the way Paul wrote the book of Romans

is very, very particular.

He basically, if you remember correctly,

we're going to read it later on,

Romans 1, he says, you know,

hi, I'm Paul, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Going to go there, going to do this.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Then Romans 1, 16 to 17,

he basically gives the theme of the whole book,

the message of the book.

And then from Romans 1, 18 to Romans 11,

he basically says why we need the gospel

and what the gospel is.

He explains and defends the gospel.

But now in chapter 12, verse 1,

and right through the end of the book,

he basically is going to address the question,

how shall we then live?

If the gospel is true, how do we live?

What do we do?

What do we not do?

And Paul has actually written this last bit

in a very, very particular way as well,

because this in many ways seems to be

his most thought out book.

Not that he didn't think about the other ones,

but in all the books in the New Testament,

this is very, very carefully crafted

with certain features.

And one of the features is that

these two verses that I'm going to read to you

in a moment,

this gives you the basic principle

of how you live as a Christian

after you've accepted the gospel.

And all of the rest of chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15

are Paul trying to flesh this out,

but these first two verses are really key.

So even though you have your Bibles open,

Andrew, could you put it up on the screen?

We're going to read it together

because if you get nothing else

out of coming to sermons on the book of Romans

but memorizing these verses,

then I've done a great thing,

or God's done a great thing in your life,

because it's far better that you remember the scripture

than you remember anything I say.

So if you read this with me, please.

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters,

by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and pleasing to God,

which is your rational worship.

Do not be conformed to this age,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern

what is the will of God,

what is good and pleasing and perfect.

So Paul's described the gospel,

like in a sense, if I was to talk to that young man

who had met Jesus on a drug trip

or the young woman who tried to kill herself with drugs,

and she was to say, well, what's next?

I mean, on one hand,

after you explain the gospel to them a bit,

is you can look at a verse like this.

These are two perfect verses to memorize

for the rest of your life.

And you'll notice it goes,

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters.

You've heard the gospel.

What's the therefore?

Is there a certain way that we're going to be led to live

if we've received the gospel,

that Jesus has died for us on the cross,

that he died in our place,

that his death and resurrection

is a power that comes from God,

that if we put our faith and trust in him,

a power comes from God

to make us right with God forever,

something that can be never taken away from us.

And does that then mean that we just do bad things?

Or like, what does it mean in terms of how we live?

Well, Paul says, the rational thing,

as the gospel grips you,

and you start to have this sense

that Jesus left the Father's side,

God, the Son of God,

leaves the Father's side

and comes and seeks us out.

He sets aside his riches

and becomes poor for us

so that we can become rich.

He takes upon himself

the doom that you and I deserve

and offers to us the destiny that he deserves,

that he takes upon himself our death

and offers his life,

that we can enter into him,

that he only takes away the bad things

that we've done,

that his life of perfect obedience to the Father,

his 100% with God,

that he, in a sense,

takes our exam results,

which is, you know,

maybe at the best is like 5%,

and he gives us his,

he takes the 5% paper,

he takes 100%,

all of these different images

that as this grips you,

the rational response

is to want to offer your life to God.

That's rational.

That's the rational response.

As the gospel grips you,

the rational response

trickles into your mind

is to offer your body,

and the word body here means

your real life,

not your imaginary life,

not just your feelings,

although your feelings matter,

not just your mind,

although your mind matters,

not just your imagination,

although your imagination matters,

not just your sensibilities,

although those matter as well,

as everything that makes you you

in your embodied existence,

everything that makes you you,

your finances,

your sexuality,

your career,

your IQ,

your creativity,

your wounds,

your weaknesses,

your illnesses,

your sicknesses,

your strengths,

every single thing

that makes you you,

that as the gospel grips you,

the rational response

is that you would offer it to God.

And when it says here

living sacrifice,

which is a very,

very good translation in English,

but the original language is

that the sacrifice,

it's the act of killing,

a living killing,

that we offer ourselves to God

in such a way

that he's going to kill things within us.

But as he kills things in us,

we live more.

You know,

those of us

who've struggled with addictions

have a sense about what that means.

Those of us

who've never struggled with addictions,

I mean,

we still can know it in other ways,

but those of you,

it's not that God gave you an addiction

so that you would know something

that other people don't know,

but I'm just sharing with you,

those of you,

us who have known

how alcohol or drugs

or sex

or gambling

has completely and utterly

bent our lives out of shape,

that as we kill that,

we discover that we're more alive.

That's the basic principle

which is being talked about here.

And the other basic principle

which is being talked about here

is the second verse,

that this world forms us

in different ways.

It forms us in ways

that we're not even aware of.

I don't know how many of you

have ever shopped at Costco,

but if you shop at Costco

for the first time,

you're going to mess up

because there's a way

of shopping at Costco.

You have to show your card

at the beginning

you have to let go

of your cart

at the checkout counter.

We get addicted

to holding on to our cart

and you have to actually

put the cart

on the other side

and walk away from it.

There's things like that, right?

And then after a while

you just realize

you've been conformed

to how to shop at Costco.

When I went to England,

I'm used to waitresses

or waiters

coming to the table

and in a lot of places

they don't come to the table.

You have to,

if you sit there

for a long time

they'll keep looking at you

but they won't come

and serve you

because it works different

and we get conformed

to this age.

And so the Bible here

in the next part

is saying

that one of the things

that's going to happen

as we're gripped

by the gospel

is that we have to

in a sense

regularly say to God,

God,

this age is conforming me

in different ways

and I don't want

to be conformed

to this age

in ways that aren't

honoring to you

but may you

transform my mind.

I want to let you

transform my mind

and how I think

and how I see the world

and I don't want to

just sort of sit here

waiting until you do it

like just sort of

by magic.

I want to test it.

In other words,

the word testing here

doesn't mean that

God's testing you.

It's a little bit as if

let's say you're

with somebody

and an accident happens

and there's no

cell phone coverage

but this is like

in early March

and you're on the

bank of a river

and the river's frozen

and you can see

on the other side

of the brief river

that there's a phone

that you can use

to call for help

because you need

to get an ambulance

to this person right away

and so you test the ice

as you walk across

and that's sort of

the image here

for testing

is that you get up

off your butt

and you actually

do something

and God isn't

expecting to get it

perfect.

He's not saying

just sit on your butt

until you get it

100% sorted out

in your head

that you actually

do stuff

and you try to

sort it out

as you go along

and as you're moving

God will begin to

and you want God

to transform your mind

he'll start to

transform your mind.

That's his basic principle.

All the rest of the

book of Romans

is going to

unpack it

because we need

to have a bit

of a better idea

about what this

is going to look like

and so Paul

is going to try

to unpack this

for the rest

of the book of Romans

but you can see

basically that

I know that

memorizing isn't

like very cool

or hip

or anything anymore

like I know

if you go to school

I don't think

they'd like you

to memorize

they don't even

want you to

memorize the times

tables

a little bit

of a non-Bible rant

if you're a parent

and you have kids

have them memorize

the times tables

like it's just smart

okay

it doesn't matter

if a whole pile

sorry I'm going to

get people mad

it doesn't matter

if a whole pile

of people with PhDs

at the school of education

say that it's not

good to memorize

memorize your times tables

okay

have your kids

anyway sorry

that's a bit of an aside

but you know

it'll help for the rest

of your life

it's painful

watching somebody

trying to do

the simplest math

in their head

if they just knew

it would be

anyway never mind

so but if you want

you know

this is a verse

these are two verses

to memorize

and to think about

and to meditate upon

and to pray over

for the rest of your life

so it's very very precious

but now the question

then is

what does this look like

like if

in counseling

one of the things

they teach you

if you take a

courses in counseling

is so somebody

comes to you

because they have

some problems

and maybe one of the

things they say

to you early on

is

you know

Fred hates me

that's

I don't know

how to handle it

because Fred

hates my guts

and it's just

causing me

a lot of distress

and so

one of the things

that they teach you

in counseling

is well

what does that mean

okay

don't assume

that when somebody

comes to you

for counseling

and they say

Fred hates my guts

that you know

what that means

precisely

you need to get

them to talk

to flesh that out

a little bit

like

like are they

physically abusing

you

are you

misreading

situations

like what does it

mean

don't assume

you know what it

means

so you

normally

and you

in counseling

as well

they try to

ask you

they try to

teach you

to never ask

why questions

because why

questions

for modern

and post-modern

North Americans

can feel

threatening

to a person

who's feeling

weak

so they

try to

train you

then to

try to

get

you want

to ask

why

but you

can't

use

the word

why

so you

say

something

like

well can

you give

me an

example

of how

you know

they hate

you

or

can you

give me

a couple

of incidents

or

for instances

or something

you get

them talking

and

then as

they start

to flesh

it out

you get

a bit

of an idea

so that's

what Paul's

going to be

doing

throughout

the rest

of the

book of

Romans

he has

these two

this basic

understanding

of what it

means

how shall

we then

live

after we've

given our

lives to

Jesus

it's very

very brilliant

because it

doesn't matter

if you went

back in time

and you're

in the year

1000

in Europe

it doesn't

matter today

if you're

in China

where there's

persecution

of Christians

it wouldn't

matter if you

are in

Alabama

doesn't matter

if you're

in Ottawa

this is

like a

brilliant

way

to

communicate

how you

begin

to live

which is

culturally

flexible

and appropriate

but gets

right to the

heart

and so

Paul's

going to

now start

to flesh

it out

and it's

very very

interesting

the way

he begins

to flesh

it out

is by

getting us

to think

about how

we think

about

ourselves

because

one of

the fundamental

human

problems

is that

we measure

everything

by how

it affects

us

and

often

a common

problem

it doesn't

matter

if you're

a person

with low

self-esteem

or high

self-esteem

one of the

things which

unites people

with low

and high

self-esteem

is that

we can't

get over

ourselves

and so

Paul is

going to

right away

begin to

address our

thinking

so verse

three goes

like this

Romans

12

three

for by

the grace

given to

me

and that's

going to

be really

important

okay

everything

that he's

going to

say

is coming

from the

perspective

of God

offering us

grace

in Jesus

he's not

saying that

okay if you

receive the

gospel now

you're going

to live

as if Jesus

didn't live

and die

for you

you're going

to live

as if God

doesn't show

you grace

you're just

going to

live by

rules and

techniques

that you

can follow

I mean

that's how

we North

Americans

we love

techniques

we love

practices

we love

seven simple

steps

or five

simple

steps

or three

habits

or whatever

it is

we love

things like

that

and Paul

is going

to say

no no no

grace

okay in a sense

when you wake

up in the morning

don't think

what are the

six simple

steps I need

to succeed

think of the

mercies of

God

think of the

gospel

think of

grace

earlier on

I joked

about how

I love

reading the

old

colics

because it

makes you

realize that

God is the

guarantor of

the church

that if I

screw up

my sermon

today

it's not

as if

the Christian

gospel

collapses

if Joey

screws up

one Sunday

it doesn't

mean the

gospel

collapses

the fact

of the

matter

is

that God

is going

to love

me today

when I

give my

faith and

trust

put my

faith and

trust in

Jesus

and he

takes my

doom upon

himself

and he

offers me

his destiny

he offers

me his

destiny

which means

that my

slate is

wiped

clean

and the

perfect

rule

keeping

so to

speak

that's

needed

is

accomplished

by him

as well

and that

extends from

the moment

of my

conception

to the

moment

of my

death

nothing

will surprise

God

about anything

in the future

I just

experienced my

life as a

moment in time

he sees the

whole thing

he takes

the whole

thing

Jesus dies

and pays

and covers

the whole

thing with

nothing left

over

and it means

that whether

I do a good

job this

morning or a

poor job

this morning

God still

loves me

I will still

go to the

new heaven

and the

new earth

the entire

Christian life

emerges

not out of

a desire

to manipulate

God

or make

God love

me or

notice me

or show

how I am

more special

or choice

that's the

devil at work

in our lives

to undermine

our faith

the whole

Christian life

flows out

of grace

and gratitude

for grace

nothing

nothing can

separate me

from the

love of

God

not because

there's

something

special

about me

but because

Jesus

took me

as his

own

and when

Jesus

takes me

as his

own

nothing

can

separate

me

from the

love

of God

and that's

the promise

for you

too

that's

Romans 8

so let's

look at

verse 3

again

it's really

it begins

by grace

for by

grace

the grace

given to me

I say to

everyone

among you

not to

think of

himself

more highly

than he

ought to

think

but to

think with

sober

judgment

each

according to

the measure

of faith

that God

has assigned

now

this is

very very

good

but it's

easy to be

a little bit

confused

about it

at the

heart of

the text

is

how do I

think about

myself

well the

fact of

the matter

is

you know

I'm a

middle-aged

male

who lives

in Canada

and so

my tendency

is to think

of myself

in terms

of the

number

of toys

I have

and the

tendency

of how

I evaluate

myself

is maybe

how many

degrees

I have

how much

money

I've

made

depending

on the

type of

middle-aged

guy

the number

of sexual

conquests

that I've

had in

my life

or better

hopefully

the success

of my

marriage

and that

my kids

still talk

to me

don't hate

my guts

but how

do I

evaluate

myself

and what

the text

is here

saying about

it is

that there's

a basic

problem

is that we

think too

highly

of ourselves

we can't

get over

ourselves

we evaluate

everything

from our

own

perspective

the ancient

Christians

understood

pride

as the

deadliest

of the

seven

deadly

sins

because

at the

heart

of pride

is an

over

concern

with the

self

so that

the self

becomes

like a

black

hole

you know

a black

hole

is where

the matter

is so

dense

that even

light

can't escape

from it

the light

is bent

towards it

because the

matter is so

dense

and the

gravitational

field

is so

powerful

is that

pride

and self

centeredness

when it

becomes so

unbelievably

strong

we become

like a

walking

black hole

we suck

life

and light

into

ourselves

and we

only think

about

ourselves

humility

isn't

thinking

badly

about

ourselves

but it's

the freedom

of self

forgetfulness

it's

the

seven

month

old

child

who can

be

completely

and utterly

enraptured

by

something

out there

and you

can sort

of tell

that for

a brief

moment

because

children

can be

unbelievably

self

centered

and self

preoccupied

but for

a brief

moment

you can

look at

that child

and realize

that that

child

no longer

realizes

that it

exists

because

it is

he or

she is

so

completely

enraptured

by that

which is

outside

and that

is a

brief

image

or glimpse

or snapshot

of what

the Bible

is calling

for in

humility

the freedom

of self

forgetfulness

as Tim

Keller

put it

and so

if you

look at

this text

again

here

for by

the grace

given to

me

I say

to everyone

among you

not to

think of

himself

or herself

more highly

than he ought

to think

of and more

often

and all of

that

but to

think with

sober

judgment

in other

words

what's

sober

judgment

sober

means

that you're

in touch

with

reality

right

that's

what sober

means

amongst

other

things

it not

only means

that you're

in touch

with

reality

it also

means

that you're

not

driven

by

compulsions

that's

another

aspect

of what

sober

means

I'm

not

driven

in the

real world

God

exists

like

in the

real world

I'm a

creature

living in

a created

order

where there's

a creator

who sustains

his created

order

as I'm

gripped by

the gospel

and I start

to have

a greater

comfort

with saying

I am

not a

God

I am

not the

center

of

life

I am

not the

center

of

things

that are

most

important

I'm

a

creature

I'm

sustained

by a

creator

I have

one

who's

created

me

I am

not

God

as

these

things

enter

into

us

we're

becoming

sober

we're

becoming

realistic

we're

entering

into

the

real

world

the

gospel

leads

us

into

the

real

world

not

away

from

the

real

world

if

there

really

is a

God

who does

exist

to live

as if

there

isn't

a

God

or to

live in

rebellion

against

God

is to

be

consumed

with a

compulsion

and we'd

want to

say you

need to

be sober

so as

we're

gripped

by the

gospel

the

gospel

is going

to

help

us

to

not

be

driven

by

compulsions

and it's

going to

help us

to live

in the

real

world

where God

really does

exist

where you

can call out

to God

in prayer

and he

does

things

not

everything

you want

thanks be

to God

grade 12

I dated a

girl for

10 months

and she

broke up

with me

and I

prayed for

years

that she

would get

back to

me

and I

am so

thankful

God

said no

to every

one of

those

prayers

because he

had Louise

in mind

for me

that I

didn't even

know

existed

and she

has been

the perfect

wife for

me

I can

multiply

it

examples

so look

at verse

three again

for by the

grace given

to me I

say to

everyone

among you

not to

think of

himself

more highly

than he

ought to

think

but to

think

with sober

judgment

each

according

to the

measure of

faith that

God has

assigned

and what

this isn't

saying that

God's given

a different

measure of

faith to

every person

the word

measure can

also be

translated as

standard

so in

other words

not only

are we to

not think of

ourselves too

highly but

the standard

by which we

are to think

about ourselves

is the

gospel message

the faith

that God

exists

that human

beings have

been in

rebellion

against God

and when

God saw

our great

need he

did not

turn away

from us

or hate

us

but in

love and

mercy

by still

being just

he sent

his son

to die

upon the

cross

to take

upon himself

the doom

that we

deserved

and that we

were facing

and that we

could not

avoid

and God

takes upon

him

Jesus

takes upon

himself

our

unavoidable

doom

and offers

us freely

by grace

his destiny

in an

exchange

and when

we put

our faith

and trust

in Jesus

that's

what's

happening

the death

that we

cannot

avoid

by our

own

power

that we

needed a

miracle

from God

we put

our faith

and trust

in Jesus

and that

doom

is on

Jesus

that's why

he dies

and his

destiny

is now

ours

and that

is to be

the standard

and the

lens

by which

we are

to understand

the meaning

of our

life

and the

significance

of our

life

you see

this is

profound

news

because if

you think

that having

toys

is the

measure

of your

life's

success

you will

always be

unhappy

and just

think about

this

when this

letter

written to

Rome

archaeologists

and

anthropologists

estimate

that 70%

of the

people

in the

church

of Rome

hearing

this

letter

were

slaves

they don't

have to

measure

themselves

by their

owners

they have

the destiny

of Jesus

that's their

destiny

they can

measure

their

significance

by the

gospel

that the

God who

has created

and sustained

all universes

the true

God who

has shown

that all

of the

idols

of Rome

the

pretensions

of Nero

who thinks

that he's

a God

that those

are all

lies

they're

fantasies

they're

illusions

they are

people who

need to

sober up

but the

God

of the

universe

loved them

so much

that his

son died

upon the

cross

for them

a slave

in Rome

and he died

for them

and that

is how

they are

to understand

and see

their life

and for us

not old

not sick

not dying

not fat

not strong

not beautiful

not young

not successful

not unsuccessful

not a failure

not any of

those things

the gospel

invites us

as we're

gripped by

the gospel

to have

the gospel

be the way

that we

understand

our lives

I put it

in a prayer

if you could

put it up

dear Lord

please make me

a disciple

of Jesus

gripped by

the gospel

who can

think about

myself

with sober

judgment

by the

light of

the gospel

see that

that's what

God is

speaking to

us through

his word

and he

wants us

to listen

to him

and he

wants us

now to

speak to

him

and he'll

continue

to speak

to you

dear Lord

please make

me a

disciple

of Jesus

gripped

by the

gospel

who can

think about

myself

with sober

judgment

by the

light

of the

gospel

some of

you are

a bit

surprised

because I

only have

about ten

more minutes

left in

the sermon

I haven't

even got

to the

gifts

part

and

you know

the really

hard part

about us

North

Americans

is that

we want

to get

to the

practical

techniques

and applications

really quick

and we're

really hoping

that George

will give

the six

simple

steps

by which

you understand

your gift

and the five

simple

practices

by which

you'll do

them really

really well

and we

want to

we don't

even realize

how deeply

addicted we

are to

that

we're deeply

addicted

and here's

another thing

if you're a

non-Christian

who's here

this morning

I want to

tell you

one of the

things about

us Christians

is that

we're blind

to how deeply

driven we are

by consumerism

that consumerism

shapes us

regrettably

lamentably

just as much

as it

shapes you

and most

people in

our culture

that we're

not aware

of the

fact how

we view

everything

in terms

of what

we can

consume

and how

we can

evaluate

the consumption