I saw
this advertisement in a news website:
We’ll
double your deposits!... 100% deposit bonus… Get up to $500 in minutes!
With a
catchphrase like that, who is not going to click on the ad? And, who is not going to be
tempted, or enticed, to want their deposits doubled, and getting money quickly? But that is the very reason why they put catchphrases like that in their ads. This is
what makes people gullible to scams. But assuming
that this is a legitimate offer from a licensed company, their advertisement
preys on the very same desire, or lust, that makes people not just gullible to scam artists, to want to have MORE MONEY. It preys on the very discontent and materialistic nature of a sinful heart. We are
never satisfied, always wanting more. The sinful heart will always ask - "And what’s wrong with doubling what you
have in your bank account, or for earning quick money?".
Sadly, it's a question that many Christians ask in their hearts. Doesn't God want us to have more, to get more, to double our money? What they don't realize is that they have plunged into the lifestyle of the world. And those who are in that lifestyle have plunged themselves into a life of trouble and worry.
One of
the areas of our heart that God works in a heart of His disciple is that very
issue – our desire for more money, more things. God calls it the love of money.
Yes…love. Not just having it, or using it, but loving it.
How do we know that we love money? How do
we know we love someone?
·
We
can’t live without him/her;
·
we
will risk anything for him/her;
·
anything
he/she asks, we give;
·
we
are willing to sacrifice anything and everything for him/her.
How do
we know we love money? It’s the same thing.
·
We
can’t live without it;
·
we
will risk anything for it;
·
anything
it asks us to do to get more, we will do;
·
we
are willing to sacrifice anything and everything, even our walk with God – our love
for Him, our obedience to His word, our time and effort spent with Him and for Him.
Our Lord
was clear when He taught His disciples in the sermon on the mount:
Matthew 6:24 NIV No one can serve two masters. Either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
From time
in memorial, the Lord has always taught His disciples, His people, that He is
their treasure, He is their first love, and to be wary of money or material things. He taught His people, the Israelites, that with manna.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NIV Remember how the LORD your God
led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test
you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his
commands. (3) He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with
manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does
not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the
LORD.
This was a nugget of wisdom that Solomon had in his book of Proverbs:
Proverbs
23:4-5 NIV Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show
restraint. (5) Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will
surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
The apostle
Paul’s teaching rightly summarizes it:
1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV People who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. (10) 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.
What happens to Christians who want to get rich?
They fall into
temptation and a trap, into many
foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. One of the reasons many believers are eager to get rich is because they see those who are rich in the world and they THINK that they are living lives free of ruin and destruction. All they see is how much the rich have, how they are SEEMINGLY enjoying life. What they don't see is how many are living in ruin and destruction, and how ALL OF THEM have HEARTS that are in ruin and destruction - because they have loved money more than God.
The love
of money is the root of all evil. Christians like emphasizing the word "love" - it's the love of money, and not money, that is the root of all evil. Yes, that's true. But be wary and alert about that money that comes into your bank account or your wallet - because it is so enticing that you don't realize that you're already in love with it.
The warning for believers is that those who love money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Take a "spiritual inventory" - how many of us, have wandered from the faith, have stopped trusting God for our provisions, and are now trusting in ourselves, our work, our business, rather than God. How many of us are being pierced with many griefs because we have made money our god, rather than the Lord who gave His life for us, to enjoy His life.
Despite all the admonitions of the Lord there are against money, there are so many Christians who fall
prey to advertisements, offers, to have more, to borrow more, only to plunge
themselves into deeper trouble and hardship.
God
calls His disciples to love Him, to make His kingdom and His righteousness what
we seek and live for. He works in our hearts so that we are content with what
we have, and trust the Lord to provide for everything we need and even for our
enjoyment.
Let’s
continually heed the call of the Lord to make Him our source of satisfaction
and contentment. More of Him, and nothing else.
John
6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me
will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
