Posted on 08/22/2024 1:31:23 PM PDT by metmom
“‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth’” (Matthew 6:19).
You cannot pursue both God and riches.
Ours is a society consumed with material things. Status, success, and importance are all too often measured by a person’s financial worth. Those with wealth flaunt it; those without wealth fake it. People often rack up huge debts in their desperate and futile pursuit of happiness through accumulating material things.
Sadly, that same materialistic mind-set permeates the church. Instead of offering an alternative, that of being distinct from the world, the church joins the world in its pursuit of riches. Most tragically of all, the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is lost in the process.
It is not wrong to have possessions. Job, Abraham, and Solomon were among the wealthiest men of their day. But it is wrong to covet, to make the pursuit of material things the main goal of your life, to serve mammon instead of God. “Do not love the world,” wrote the apostle John, “nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). James addressed these scathing words to those whose focus is on material things: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Behind much of the pursuit of riches in the church is a lack of trust in God’s provision. Instead of finding security in His promise to supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19), we seek it in a house, a bank account, or a stock portfolio. God did not give us our money and possessions so we wouldn’t have to trust Him. He gave them to us to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17) and to test the legitimacy of our spirituality (Luke 16:11).
Whether you are rich or poor, your attitude toward your possessions and how you handle them is a test of your spirituality. How are you doing?
Suggestions for Prayer
Pray with Agur, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Prov. 30:8-9).
For Further Study
What do the following verses teach about our attitude toward wealth: Psalms 49:5-9; 52:7; 62:10?
From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
Studying God’s Word ping
Yet Prosperity Gospel Christians say that if you have enough faith, God will grant your wishes. "Name it and claim it!
If you remain poor, it's because you lack faith.
Thank you, great post. It is a major downfall of our culture. Unfortunate that you will find very few who will actually agree.
Correct on both accounts.
That’s right. If you don’t have enough money for your mortgage payment this month, just pray and God will find a way to provide it!!
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
“Lust” and even then, only certain aspects of it (premarital relations, homosexuality, contraception, sterilization etc is now all OK), is over emphasized while all other temptations leading us to sin are entirely ignored.
Greed, pride, gluttony, wrath, sloth, and envy are seldom the topic of sins origin.
Type “usery” into a spell checker and see what you get.
Many of these ideas are no longer with us et al.
People who are content, fearless, confident, and at peace cannot be told to buy something to elevate their status, you can’t use fear to get them to take a vax, you can’t use anger to get them to vote a certain way...
We live in a world where people have become for the most part the perfect mindless consumer.
Everything teaches us to be materialistic.
And you can’t tempt a person who actually values Heaven more than anything this world has to offer.
““Lust” and even then, only certain aspects of it (premarital relations, homosexuality, contraception, sterilization etc is now all OK), is over emphasized while all other temptations leading us to sin are entirely ignored.
Greed, pride, gluttony, wrath, sloth, and envy are seldom the topic of sins origin.
Type “usery” into a spell checker and see what you get.
Many of these ideas are no longer with us et al.
People who are content, fearless, confident, and at peace cannot be told to buy something to elevate their status, you can’t use fear to get them to take a vax, you can’t use anger to get them to vote a certain way...
We live in a world where people have become for the most part the perfect mindless consumer.
Everything teaches us to be materialistic.”
Very well said and fact.
“And you can’t tempt a person who actually values Heaven more than anything this world has to offer.”
You can’t tempt a person who actually values their own personal moral integrity more than anything this world has to offer.
Some have the moral integrity to full well know the difference between honest money and dirty money and refuse to compromise. They will go broke before they associate with any money that might be dirty.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.