A concern

(Matthew 6:21)  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There are many commodities in life that we take for granted, but Gold and precious stones is not one of them. That which is not easy to come by often has a higher value than the rest of the necessities needed to soldier on through life; in a parched land water jumps from the bottom of the “taken for granted” scale to the top. As Christians our values begin to change, it is the reforming work of the Spirit in our lives. However I have seen a powerful lure at play, which is not driven by the Spirit of God; the desire for so many wanting to be rich and sadly this reality that has motivated those with a similar mind-set will suffer loss in eternity. How do I know that? Anything that drives us from Christ and not towards Him will in the long run end up robbing the believer and when the books are opened our works shall be judged in righteousness. Both the believer and the heathen shall stand before the judgement seat of God. The unbeliever will be judge for their sin, whilst the believer will have their works judged. So the sooner the Christian learns to value this lesson the freer we shall be, for our lives depend upon it; “where our hearts are there I treasures will be also.” The more I am honest with my deliberation concerning this teaching, the clearer I am able to see; Am I content with food and raiment? If not I am still under the sway of the lure of “the love of money”. This may be a hard pill to swallow but needful if we are to move past this “giant” who enslaves so many; “where have all the good saints gone”, what of the puritan mentality? The pressures of life certain play their part in this church age of Laodicea; a comparison easily deduced when we examine the free world, it democracy and the voices of the so called Christian.

I cannot but be reminded about the ten virgins; five were wise whilst five were foolish, but they were both classified as virgin. Typology of the saved cries out from that analogy with the emphasis on “virgins”. The wise were ready to meet the bridegroom, whilst the unwise were late.

There is much to do about money and its ensnaring power penned in the Gospels and the Apostles Epistles and it would be wise for us to sit up and take note of their teachings. The Spirit has no need of monies entrapment, and to prove this point the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples in faith with no money; "And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics." (Luke 9:3) - But the flesh on the other hand craves what it has to offer. Here are just some of those warnings mentioned; "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)  - “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (Timothy 6:10)

This is an unavoidable truth that needs to resonate with our understanding and we must find grace to live in accordance with God’s will in this area of our lives, if not it will cost us in eternity. – The next point we must observe is what we do with the money we have been given; I have squandered so much of this in my life but exceedingly grateful for the eye-salve God is now imparting to me to see where I have gone wrong and what I need to do to right my wrongs; We must use what has been specified to sustain our bodies and no more, the rest must be used to glorify our God and the furtherance of His Gospel.

Understanding faith equips us to be governed by this truth; “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

How many of those who you know and have known over time, recipients who responded to God’s wonderful gospel message have been swayed by these truths? Sadly I can recall far too many even now as I type away at my keyboard. Money may be a necessary evil but far to much emphasis is placed upon it. God help us to see the wood from the trees in this area of our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone