For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. -- 1Timothy 6: 10 (NLT)
We all are familiar with the opening of this verse but look at the remainder of it! Money has caused and continues to cause people to actually wander away from God! So many of us jokingly lament why we can't just hit the lotto but God knows what would happen if we did! Solomon of course gathered more wealth than any king of Israel had or would. Maybe that clouded his judgment. Maybe he thought it was a sign from God that what he was doing was somehow ok. We see a lot of that in the church today as well. We use worldly measurements of success to determine if God is somehow involved. We confuse attendance with success. Narrow is the road that leads to eternal life. Packing in 10,000 people per week is not what God is looking for:
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away! -- Luke 15: 7 (NLT)
God has a Promised Land for all of us beloved. He has works set out for us to do that He has prepared in advance for us. He is a good God. He is not willing that any should perish and He does not give us direction as advice. Too often we are looking for an advisor not a Lord. Modern theology keeps confusing the correct roles for us and God. Is God our friend? Absolutely; but not if He is not first our Lord. If He the lover of our souls? Absolutely; but not until we make Him our King first. As Lord and King of my life He gets to rule. He gets to make the rules. There is a reason why God stopped the Israelites on the outskirts of their Promised Land and advised them what they should and should not do. It was not for His enjoyment. It was not punishment. It was for their own benefit.
Likewise, when I read the Bible it is God telling me what is the best way to go. What is the best way to live. Not for His enjoyment. Not for punishment. It is for my own benefit. He recognizes how difficult it is or He would not have focused like a laser on the primary areas we tend to fall in. We need to be careful to not look back into the world from which He saved us. There is no more fellowship now between the light of Christ within me and the darkness of this world. I must not place my reliance on the horses of this world. I must be vigilant against the things that seek to draw my heart away from God. I must value the eternal things of God over the temporal wealth of this world. I must be ever cautious to recognize where the compromise begins. Where the rationalizations begin. Where I start to lessen the importance of the Word of God in my life; no matter how logical or full of wisdom the compromise may seem. Lord keep my eyes fixed upon You and Your Word which guides me into the true Promised Land that you have for me"amen.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- July 14, 2012
1
1
