“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (riches or material wealth)” –
Matthew 6:24
Someone once said that “Money can buy you anything but
happiness ... and can take you anywhere but heaven!” The desire for having more
wealth is not limited to those who already have it. The desires of the flesh are insatiable. There is never enough. When asked about how much more money a certain
rich man needed, who was already a billionaire, he answered, “Just a little bit
more.” Many Haitians call the United States,
“money land”. The United States is called the “land of opportunity.” Certainly
the standard of living, even for the poor in this country, exceeds the standard
for most Haitians. Abraham Maslow, a psychologist,
wrote a paper in 1943 entitled, “A Theory of Human Motivation” in which he described
a “hierarchy of needs.” Simply put … each of us has progressive needs that when
satisfied give rise to other needs. The
basic needs are physiological. Food –
water – health then safety – shelter and so on.
Once met, we move on to the next one. But how much is enough – for our
flesh – the natural man – just a little bit more.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,
for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.” – 1 Timothy 6:10
It is not wealth or having things that is the problem. It is when the pursuit of wealth becomes the
hope of our now and of our future. When
we place more trust in our 401K than in our Father in heaven. When we decide we need to build bigger
barns. Have you ever said or thought of
a preacher, “All he talks about is money!”? Why does that bother you so, do you think? Is
it because you discern that the preacher has the wrong motive or is it possible
that the Spirit is convicting you about your love for that which you will ultimately
leave behind for someone else?
I recall a story about a certain man that died and in his
will was the direction to sell all he had and purchase gold which was to be
placed in his coffin with him. Well, he did die, like we all will one day, and
they sold all of his possessions and cashed in all of his investments and
converted it to gold bullion. The put
the gold in his coffin and buried him and his treasure. That which he had sacrificed for all of his
life. As he approached the gates of
heaven, he was dragging this coffin with him.
St. Peter asked him, “Bob, what is in the box?” To which Bob relied
proudly, “It is that which I spent my life accumulating, I sacrificed everything
else, even my family, to have it.” So St. Peter opened the lid and then with a quizzical
look on his face asked, “Pavement?”
The moral to the story of course is that the things that men
value on earth is not necessarily what God values in heaven. We are here for 70 or 80 years – we are in heaven
of eternity. The next time you hear a sermon on tithing or money, ask yourself –
“Is God speaking to my heart. Am I keeping the first things first?”
“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You
still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this,
he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.” – Luke 18:22-23
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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