10/28

1 Timothy 6:8-10

⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

What a difficult truth for us to hear. Our modern world constantly bombards us with advertising of all the wonderful possessions we could have if we only made more money. How many gamble away their money as they pray for the jackpot that they swear would not change them? The history of lottery winners is a sad testimony to the truth of these verses. And how many believe they are called to be rich so that they can minister to the rich? If we have food and clothing, we will be content. Paul did not think it was necessary to be rich, and he witnessed to business owners and kings.

He warns us that the desire to get rich will cause us to fall into temptations and a trap and harmful desires that will destroy us. If you believe this to be divinely inspired, why would you want to go that direction? The desire for the world still has a hold on what you see as valuable. "But I would use it for God's kingdom!" Yes, a very few are called down that difficult path. There is a difference between using your gifts of financial ability and desiring to be rich. You must examine your heart with all sincerity to know the difference. It may be easier to examine what you do with the wealth to know the answer. If the most of it goes into building bigger barns, you may be fooling yourself.

Money is not the root of all kinds of evil. The love of it is. It is a painful path filled with lessons on the vanity of things without God's blessing. It is self-inflicted pain. Hear the lonely cry of the wealthy. They have tried to fill their emptiness with vanity and found it all unfulfilling. Pray for them to find the real treasure, Christ Jesus. Pray that you withstand the alluring temptation of wealth and see it for what it really is. Pray for God's people who are wealthy to keep their hearts set on true wealth.

Consider: If you were granted one request, would you ask for true wealth, or the temporal wealth of this world?