God or Money

(Matthew 6:24) “…You cannot serve God and money”

There has be much to do about the Christian and money; the prosperity preacher hones in on money as a form of blessing, whilst other shy away from it completely.

When we chase money, no matter who that person may be, their focus will be engulfed with reaching that goal, to have lots of it! Whether one has a little or abundance, this in no way proves a person’s status before God! King Solomon was arrayed like no other; he was very wealthy and gold surrounded him and this is what he had to say about that; “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

That man who insists that we need to be rich to be happy is a liar and he does the work of the devil. If you find yourself cashing money as I once did. It is no more than a red herring that will never bring satisfaction. In fact, anything that we place before obedience to our God is no more than a snare waiting to be triggered.

I mention a story that my brother Michael told me many years ago that has been engraved into my mind; it goes something like this; in his early Christian life he recalled walking into a poor man’s house, it was dimly lit and in the centre of the room a candle glowed on a humble table with an open book on it, it was a very unassuming abode, although base, this habitat with its simple furniture is not what caught his eye, it was neither the  glow from the candle but the radiance that shone from the man’s face. “Get to know this book” he said pointing to the Bible. I have heard many a fool say I do not believe the bible it is full of contradictions. But I often wonder if they have even held it in their hands let alone read the first chapter of Genesis. True peace and happiness comes from our relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, get to know Him, get to know his Father and it will most certainly go well with our souls. Now whether a person has an abundance of money or apparently a lack thereof, that is not why we are told to avoid chasing it. The lesson is simple; if we chase money, all it proves is that we are more interested in this life than the life to come.

This then is the warning; no one can serve two masters, God and money. For if we serve money we will have our eyes fixed on this life, we will be chasing a temporal existence. It will past away! Whilst on the other hand if we can settle with what we have and be thankful for our daily provision which God shall supply we will then be able without distraction to focus on Him, storing up treasure in heaven, which will be our eternal abode.

Let us not be duped into believing the lies that so many false teachers like to proclaim. Don’t you know that your Father knows what you need before you even ask Him?

We must learn to simplify our daily walk along with our priorities; it is one day at a time that is all God our Father requires from us. It is a walk of faith! But not faith in uncertain riches, but faith in the great I AM! Does He not feed the birds of the field, how much more then will He not feed us!

Money or the lack thereof can fill our eyes with a hazy dearth to these truths; this is why we are taught by the Lord Jesus not to worry about tomorrow but rather to focus on today. Why? So that we can learn to put our trust in Him and not to hedge our bets just in case He doesn’t come through for us. He always will, because He cares for all those that belong to Him!

 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

Signing off

Tyrone