Good morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
When my wife wanted to get married I told her that we would never have very much money, and she completely agreed to this and we got married shortly thereafter. We were both baptized by submersion in 1999 and had all of our past sins forgiven through Christ. On that day, we began our walk together in the Christian faith.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Because of biblical mandates and the separation clause found in this verse, I built us a small cabin out in the woods to keep separate from the world and its influences. We had discussed moving out into the desolate regions of Alaska or maybe buying a remote island where we could be alone and raise our family, but God placed us in a small little town of 200 people in Northern Minnesota.
We have never had very much according to the world’s standards, but we’ve had each other and our faith in Christ. We always had our basic needs and learned how to be content with what we have been given by God. We have had goats, chickens, rabbits and fish for food. We have had greenhouses and gardens. One of the very first beds that Andrew slept on we made out of cat tail down which my wife and I picked down by the river. All of our cooking has been done over a wood cook stove along with heating our home in the coldest of winters.
Other items that we needed from time to time were purchased very inexpensively at rummage sales, or we found free items that people were going to throw away and they really didn’t want anymore. Numerous repairs that were done on our home were salvaged from a home that somebody was throwing in the dumpster. Andrew and I completely took it apart. My wife and family have never lacked things that we truly needed because the Lord Jesus Christ has always taken care of us. Like the disciples of the Lord Jesus, I too walked away from a good paying job in the world. Any extra things that may have been needed were provided through our family businesses where we work alongside each other. Our family is similar to a dairy farmer, whose family members all work and help out by milking cows and feeding and taking care of the animals.
Just as Lot took his wife and family and left Sodom and Gomorrah, our new lifestyle was chosen in order to be faithful to the teachings of Christianity. I came out from the world to be separate. This doesn’t mean that we cut completely off society around us, because my hope is that they believe in the truth of Christ and His Word. My family has evangelized, preached, handed out flyers and bibles over the last 20 years, but we made the choice that others have, to be independent and separate from the world and its philosophies. To live like this, you need to choose it. Your love for God and to please Him must be greater than any other treasure on this Earth. This is why the love of money is the root of all evil. You must be capable of turning away from it all in order to love God perfectly.
Moses is a prime example of somebody who turned away from all of the riches and pleasures that Egypt had to offer him in order to serve God and do His will. The Apostles of the Lord Jesus did the same, and turned away from their earthly jobs in order to follow and serve Christ.
Matthew 6:24 – No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
When we choose to be content with our food and our clothes, when we choose to be content with the simple things that God gives us from day to day, we have more time available to spend with one another and to grow in our faith and in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our love for the Lord Jesus Christ needs to be the greatest love above all things. In the church we must learn contentment so that we can be filled with spiritual riches that come from Jesus.
Hebrews 13:5 – Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
The Lord Jesus Christ has to be our greatest love. We seek after what we love. When people are seeking monetary gain and attempting to improve their standing in society, their eyes are not on Christ, they’re on the world.
1 Timothy 6:5-10 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
When somebody is rich they have far more than what they really need to get by. The carnal nature wants to possess more and more and more Earthly possessions, while the truth is, it is only a covetous desire that will only lead to sorrow. The Apostle Paul learned to be content and happy with what he had.
Philippians 4:11…..for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Because of our family’s choice to be separate from the world and to be content with the simple things that God has given us, we have had much more time to seek God and to spend time with each other.
Look at what has happened in the world today. A lot has happened in the last 300 years, and many times I truly feel like a man who has been born in the wrong century. In the past women stayed home to help their husband, but now they have gone off to work in society. Children have been abandoned and sent off by parents to people who they don’t even know at a school somewhere. The children have been left at a daycare to be raised by people who don’t even share their values and religious beliefs. Years go by and they don’t even know who their children are anymore because the love of money has completely blinded their eyes. When I think about this I always remember the movie about Scrooge who, because of his lust for money, missed out on all the important things in life.
Money can never provide something that a lot of us need more than anything else, quality time with God and with each other. Time is a precious commodity. Everybody needs to choose how they’re going to use it. Do you want to earn less and be able to watch your children grow up? Do you want to be there the moment they take their first step? Do you want to hear them as they speak the first word that comes from their mouth? I did and because of the choices that I made, I was able to see these things come to pass. I have watched as they learned to sing songs about Jesus. I was there when they asked me to baptize them. I was there when they had their first communion. I was the very first person to see my children take their very first breath as I caught them coming out of the womb on our bed at home. These were all things that I have been able to see in my life because of the choices I made to be content in my life. They are memories that are etched into my mind and soul that nobody can ever take away from me and I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
So there is something that money can never do, it’s to replace the time that you spend with God and with others. Will you make the same choice that I did? Will you eventually learn to be content with, the…
….. Simple Things
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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