3. The pursuit of wealth interferes with God’s will for us!
Matt 13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
LK 13 “No servant 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.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
1TI 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 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. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
STAY TUNED FOR PART FOUR
Aug 28, 2012 @ 07:36:51
Amen…
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Aug 28, 2012 @ 20:51:38
I recall that Jesus said that those that can’t be trusted with this world’s wealth cannot be trusted with divine treasure likewise. It is important to be faithful in the small things that God entrusts us with so we can hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” That’s right, no matter what we are loaned from God as His provisions we are still just stewards and servants who will be judged accordingly–this implies that we are not to compare ourselves with others and their ministries. Some say that money is how we keep score or that he who dies with the most toys wins, but Billy Graham points out that true wealth is not in the abundance of our possessions but in the fewness of our wants. Some people’s reward is in this life so don’t get jealous. We are to possess our possessions and not seek after carnal ambition or worldly ambition, but God-centered ambition in the Spirit is commended.