Good morning and welcome in everybody. 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.
There are many things in this life that can pull you away from a close relationship with God. One of these is the desire for Earthly gain. A lot of people want to increase their financial standing in this world, and many times they will justify what they are doing, by claiming that they are simply trying to better themselves. But the truth is, the only way to better yourself is through submission and obedience to the gospel of Christ. Having a nicer home or a better car doesn’t make you a better person. Having a good four wheeler or a good dishwasher doesn’t make you a good person. Obedience to the will of God does, which actually doesn’t require any money at all.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
The love and desire for Earthly gain is condemned in Scripture. God chooses the poor people of this world rich in faith, because they completely trust in Him, rather than themselves.
“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” James 2:5
Poor people of this world are hated by their own neighbors. This is because their lifestyle contradicts the pursuit of the Great American dream. But not everybody has the same dream in mind. After all, this was not the pursuit of Moses, who turned away from all the treasures of Egypt in order to seek after the Spiritual riches in Christ Jesus. Many forms of false Christianity might accuse people of not providing for their own families, but Moses lived in a tent along with the rest of the Israelites and their children out in the desert. Would these same people be daring enough to falsely accuse them of not providing for their families? What wickedness. Those who love money are the types of people who make these types of false accusations, trying to justify their own sinful desires by condemning others who have chosen to live a poor and simple life before God.
“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.” Matthew 6:24
When people are poor, the wealthy will normally tell them to go and get a job, advising them that they need to purchase a better home and improve their life. But all of the possessions of this world can never improve your life. Moses understood that. The only improvements that are going to matter at Judgment Day is the perfection of the heart, which will require having a fervent love for the Lord and a seeking heart. The poor people of this world have heard it all before, coming from those who covet the things of this Earth. Rather than serving Christ, they worship the god of this world, and their desire for gain will drag them down into the depths of everlasting fire.
James 5 ¹ Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
² Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
³ Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. ⁴ Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. ⁵ Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. ⁶ Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
The Apostle Paul was very poor, but because he chose that lifestyle, he had much more time available to help others grow in their faith.
“As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 2 Corinthians 6:10
Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and if he needed to, he could provide for his needs from day to day. But making tents was not the focal point of his life. He wasn’t focused on building a business, or lining his pockets with money. He was content with the simple things, even with his own food and clothes, so that he could focus his time on preaching God’s Word to others. To do this requires being content with what you have.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11
1 Timothy 6 ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸ And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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.
People in the world look at their neighbor, and desire to be able to live the way that they do. They want a white picket fence with a landscaped yard. They want a huge beautiful home filled with all of the modern amenities. They want it so badly that they end up going so deep into debt, that they have to work the rest of their life just to dig themselves out. Their love for gain pierces them through with many sorrows. All of that time could have been better spent by preaching the gospel, and furthering the things of Christ Jesus. Rather than redeeming the time, it was all wasted because of their love for acquiring possessions. This is why many people will end up fruitless on Judgment Day, because they spent their lives making money, rather than saving souls.
“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22
Do people really think that the original disciples would have been vain enough to drive around in an expensive sports car? How absurd! Do they really believe that they are serving God by buying a $50,000 boat in order to take a couple kids fishing two weekends out of the year? What foolishness. The love of money is a deceitful, wretched, self-justifying, soul-destroying immoral evil. Imagine all of the simple meals that the same amount of money could have provided for the poor. Many people cannot hear these Spiritual truths, and will deceive themselves so badly, that it will result in being cast away into an eternal Lake of Fire.
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Luke 12:15
The first commandment is to love God above and beyond everything else, but when your love is misdirected especially on Earthly gain, it is a wretched evil that pulls you further away from what you need most of all, a close relationship with God. He is the source of our joy and our salvation, not earthly possessions. Young children have very impressionable minds, and when they see their parents so involved with Earthly wants and desires, their children grow up just like them. Rather than seeking after God, they learn to covet after the things of this world instead. Just like their parents, they will seek after their own side-hustle, rather than seeking after the things of Christ Jesus. No wonder why the laborers are few.
There are numerous sins mentioned in the scriptures, but the one that is far worse than all of the rest, is the love of money. Moses walked away from all the treasures of Egypt. The disciples even walked away from their jobs in order to be close to the Lord. Those who desire eternal life must always remember to keep up on a close relationship with the Lord Jesus, rather than turning aside, and making the attempt to……
…….Keep up with the Joneses
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 all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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