$omething’s Wrong
My family wasn’t rich but my siblings and I were warm, raised in a sound shelter and offered 3 meals a day. We thought nothing extra of our little place in a world too large for us to consider. The greatest gift we have is life. Our most precious commodity is time. Our most sought after treasure is love. The final measures of a life are godliness and service. A common prayer is for good health. The most precious and painful losses endured are from our relationships. Yet, money is mentioned more often than any other subject in the bible. This isn’t because God places excessive emphasis on it but because we do. We think of money constantly, whether we have it or not. The Word of God teaches prudence which is that money is a means of barter and control (Genesis 47:16 & 18), a means for community service (Exodus 22:25) and personal atonement (2 Kings 12:16). Dishonest money is scorned, while earned money is blessed to grow (Proverbs 13:11). The most important of the many lessons taught about money came from Jesus (as paraphrased from Luke 16:13-15), no man can serve both God and money … what is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
(In 2011) 3 billion people are living on less than $2.50 a day, while a slight majority of the planet closes it’s eyes in selfish bliss. Our world reflects our values. Excessive debt is intentional and somehow rationalized. The prices we pay correlate directly with the vigor of our demands. If we stop demanding, first value and then cost diminishes. Is the following prophecy about our future or present? “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them“(2 Timothy 3:1-5). If our eyes are open and our vanity is in check, we intuitively know where it all begins and ends.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
No Comments