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.
About 25 years ago when I first moved out here into the woods, I wanted to keep some tools and things that I use regularly in a shed outside. These were items such as gas, my chainsaw, carpentry tools and mechanic wrenches. We have always been poor, and I didn’t want to waste any money that could be used to help the family, so one day I picked up an entire van load of pallets from town and over the span of one week I tore them all apart and saved every nail in a bucket. I took a day and drew up some plans, and a few days later I had completed a free shed that was made completely out of pallets. I even used the original nails that I had pulled out of the planks. That shed is still standing today and is used on a regular basis, and although it might not be pretty, it serves its purpose and I’m thankful for it.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
In all these years, I’ve never felt the need to upgrade to a better shed. This is because it serves the function that it was built for. But many people in this world will never find a place of contentment, always seeking to improve on what they have already been given. I’ve always found it amazing that people who love wealth are never content. Their perfectly good living room isn’t exactly what they want, so they rip it all apart and put in a new one. They have a good running vehicle, but they haul it in for scrap to buy a better one instead. They have an older barn that serves the purpose, but it’s not big enough for them, so they tear it down and build another in its place. All of the money that they wasted and threw out the window could have fed poor people for many years. People such as these are living on the pinnacle of wealth, while their neighbor down the street is suffering and hurting in poverty. They think that because they have increased in wealth, that they abide in God’s favor, but the truth is they are wretched and wicked, consumed in a passion for unrighteous mammon rather than a love for God.
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.
Contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction with wherever you may be in your life. It’s not feeling the need to try to spend hours of one’s life trying to improve on the things that they have already been given. Life can be very simple and pleasant when people are content with their food and clothes, because there is a lot more time to seek after God. Whatever you love most is what you will seek after, and many people will destroy their hopes of eternal life simply because their hearts have been placed on earthly gain.
Luke 16:13 No servant 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.
What you truly want and desire in life is one of the keys to obtaining eternal life. We are supposed to covet Spiritual things, not the things of this world.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
When people are unsatisfied, they might work many different jobs in order to improve the situation. They think that the more that they obtain, the happier that they will become, but this is one of the biggest lies in this world. Children don’t need a silver spoon and a fancy home to be happy, as some of them have grown up in grass huts and teepees. So when we speak about “the better life”, in the eyes of the world this means to have a bigger home, a bigger truck and a bigger paycheck. But for a christian, the better life is having a bigger faith, a bigger knowledge of His will, and a bigger relationship with God. Moses walked away from all of the treasures of Egypt, which tells you how much the things of Christ Jesus were worth to him. The Apostles did the same thing, walking away from their jobs in order to seek a closer relationship with the Lord. But the thing that can stymie that entire process is the love of money and the carnal desire to obtain more in this world. It is a fruitless waste of time, because life is found in Christ Jesus, not in an abundance of possessions.
Luke 12:13-21 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
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. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
It is the love of money which is the root of all evil, and it is this desire that can ruin someones chance of eternal life.
Psalms 73:12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Mark 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Whatever you love most in this life is what you will be filled up with, either the treasures of this Earth, or the treasures in Christ Jesus. Many people will never find contentment, because their hearts are placed on obtaining earthy things rather than Spiritual ones. Remember that we must redeem time, and it is a valuable commodity. To seek the Lord with a full heart, you must be content with what you have, a lesson that I remember each day, when I look out at my…..
……House of Pallets
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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