Shhhhh..... This is the sin that we don't like to talk about out loud in church....
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." -1 Timothy 6:10
"Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect." -1 Timothy 3:3
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. "
-2 Timothy 3:1-5
-2 Timothy 3:1-5
So we say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” -Hebrews 13:4-6
Do you love money more than you love God?
It's easy to quicky reply, "No, of course not" because we know that's what we are SUPPOSED to say. But before mentally checking out and ASSUMING you are free from this sin that so easily entangles the majority of humanity.... make yourself keep reading. Examine yourself today. If you don't, a day will come when you will be examined, so it would be better for you to deal with it now.
When we think of GREED, or "lovers of money"... we automatically think of the Donald Trumps and other Wall Street Fat Cats of the world who have way more money than us. We compare ourselves to them and determine....
"I must be ok because I only have what is 'normal' considering the 'status quo' of society."
Or... here is a dangerous way of thinking:
"I work really hard, so I deserve to at least have _________."
Has God ever called you to a purpose that you knew at the time was a real true calling on your life? What happened to that? Why are you not living it out right now? I would venture to guess that it has something to do with being "financially impossible." There is "just no time" in your work week to include that extra activity into your life. You need to work the hours you are working because if you didn't, you could NOT AFFORD TO LIVE."
Well, what does that mean exactly? What do you consider "living"?
If you have food to eat, shelter to keep you safe from a storm, and clothes to wear, are you not living? Or does living consist of Cable TV, Internet, Cell Phones, Name Brands, daily Starbucks excursions, gym memberships, tanning memberships, acrylic nails, expensive high maintenance hairstyles, a housekeeper, a high car payment and a rent and/or house payment that breaks the bank but shouts to the world, "I have arrived"?
So the truth might be... you traded in the purpose to which God has called you, for THINGS.
How is your marraige? How is your relationship with your children? Do you find that you don't have the time and energy to invest as much effort into these relationships as they would require in order to thrive?
Maybe you are trading in your family for THINGS.
Maybe if we were willing to live with less... we would have more of ourselves to invest in things that are eternally more important in value. When we actually question ourselves on whether or not we are willing to give up some of the luxuries that we have considered necessities, we often come to the following 2 questions:
"But... What would people think???"
"Why is it ok for 'Suzy So and So' to have all of these 'things' and still be used by God for a special purpose, but not me?"
Now it's time to expose these questions for what their root stems from....
Envy:a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.
Pride: a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.
Jealousy:a)jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself. b)vigilance in maintaining or guarding something.
Coveting:a)to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another's property. b) to wish for, especially eagerly: "He won the prize they all coveted."
Greed:excessive or rapacious desire especially for wealth or possessions.
Beloved, hear me on this please....
Our standard is not based on each other, or even on the "most Christian" person that we know. Our standard is Jesus Christ, who being in very nature, God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, but took on the very nature of a servant becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!!!!
So when we stand before Him to give an account for our life... and He askes us why we did not fulfill the purpose that He so clearly spoke to us... what will we say?
"Well Jesus, I was doing as much as anyone else in my church was doing."
How well do you think that argument will hold up in his Holy court?
He knew that it would be hard for us to understand what holy living looks like, with so much corruption in the world. So He did what was necessary to show us how to live.
This leaves us no excuse for how we choose to live our life.
Lets stop looking around the pews to compare ourselves with other Christians to decide what our spiritual temperature is. We need to go straight to the word of God and allow Him to be Lord in our life.
In the matter of "The love of money"...
What is the love of money holding you back from doing with your life? What are you willing to give up to follow Christ?
"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ —yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." -Philippians 3:7-11
