Wednesday, April 5, 2017
I want to share with you today the thoughts the Lord gave me as I read these verses in the 30th Chapter of Proverbs this morning: [Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.] (7-9) Besides me, I think that many of you have the same mindset as the writer of this proverb, Agur, at least as it relates to money. We don’t want to have it all, just enough of it to supply the needs for ourselves and our families.
Agur knew that those who are full (or rich) are going to think they don’t need God, at least while they are full. I suspect many of you know people just like that, those who, because they have everything they want, don’t see or feel a need for God in their lives. That is why Agur thought, “I don’t ever want to get to that place.” On the other side of the picture, he felt that if he was poor and needy, he could have been tempted to steal, dishonoring his God in the process.
Money, like so many other things in life, can either help or harm people. Just as it can be used to help many who are in need, it can also be the reason someone kills or dies for it. In the parable of the sower, Jesus said: “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22) Simply put, The Word of God has little effect on anybody who places more value and importance on money and wealth.
The bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” The question then is “How do I know if I’m in danger of loving money more than I should.” This is my opinion, so you don’t have to agree with me: I love money more than I should when I have to check every receipt, argue with others or lose friends over it, have my relationship with others strained because of it, and never forget when somebody owes me money. On the other hand, I don’t love money if I give a lot of it away, or find it easy to buy things for others, or pay someone’s restaurant tab, or never worry about the price of something I just bought for myself or someone else, just to name a few. How about you?
One more thing: I don’t know whose idea it was but I sure am glad that these words appear on all US currency: “In God we trust.” To me, it is like the coin or bill itself is reminding us of who and what is really more important in our lives.
God’s word for today: (Matthew 6:25) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
