scrip·ture | Luke 12:20-21 20 But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
de·vo·tion | Laura and I have done a good job at living our life under the umbrella of biblical Stewardship, but I still do not feel completely qualified to write a devotional on the subject. A new sermon series, Shape Up, has started at Grace Fellowship, and one of the focus areas is “YOUR FINANCES”. There is also a class starting on January 18th called Financial Peace University, which is using the Dave Ramsey material as the curriculum. I chose a devotional to share this week that is written by Chris Brown, a pastor who joined the Dave Ramsey team in 2013. I encourage all of you to listen to the Shape Up message, go to Financial Peace University, and enjoy Chris Browns message. Peace – Shua
“Have you ever come across a chapter or verse in the Bible that left you scratching your head? Or maybe you always thought a certain verse meant one thing, only to have your pastor completely blow your mind one Sunday when he explains it in a completely different way! I think we’ve all been there as we’ve grown in our understanding of God’s Word. That’s why it’s so important that we keep digging and learning. The Bible is so full of truth that unpacking it often involves peeling away the layers before we understand what God is really saying.
One Bible subject many of us misunderstand is money. You might be shocked to learn that the Bible even has anything to say about money! Or maybe you’ve heard a money-related verse misquoted so often that you begin misquoting and misunderstanding it yourself.
And that’s why I want to help clear up any confusion about some popular money-related verses. Below are the three I see misinterpreted most often, plus my explanation of what the Bible is really trying to tell us through them.
1. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” 1 Timothy 6:10, NIV
Raise your hand if you’ve heard this verse misquoted all the time as saying money is the root of all evil. I have! But it’s just not true. It’s the love of money that gets us in trouble. Our attitude toward money is the problem, not the money itself. Money is morally neutral.
Throughout the Bible, both the impoverished and the wealthy are considered godly. Job very well could have been the wealthiest person in the world during his time, but the Bible is clear that he was a godly man. When he lost everything, God even replaced it twofold! In fact, sometimes those who were materially blessed, like Job, were also blessed by God with the power to carry out His work. God clearly doesn't equate money to evil.
2. “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke
18:24–25, NIV
Many people
use this passage to make the wealthy feel guilty for their financial success. I
guess that means we should all aim to be poor, right? But did you know the
majority of Americans earn an annual salary that puts them in the top 1% of the
world’s wealth? According to that misinterpretation, nobody in America earning
more than $34,000 a year will enter the kingdom of God. That’s crazy! And it
contradicts the very
clear teaching that God’s grace is sufficient.
The reality of
this verse is that Jesus is calling out a major stumbling block for anyone who thinks they can get
to heaven by their own works: their wealth. If we stop reading there, we miss the whole point.
But if we continue to verses 26 and 27, we understand: “They who heard it said,
‘Then who can be saved?’ But He said, ‘The things that are impossible with
people are possible with God.’”
This passage
doesn’t condemn wealth at all.
It’s Jesus’s way of letting the crowd know that none of them can get to heaven
by their own effort, but by grace alone. And let’s not forget
that just a handful of verses later, Zacchaeus, a rich, tax-collecting crook,
accepted Christ and inherited the kingdom of God because of the grace of Jesus.
God truly does
make the impossible possible.
3. “For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34, NIV
So often that
verse is misquoted backward, but the meaning is still mostly the same. It’s
telling us that when we look at our budget and our bank statement, we can see
where our heart is. So is the large percentage of our money going toward
earthly matters, or is it going to fulfill God’s purposes for it? Our spending
(or saving or giving) are all good indicators of whether we’re giving our
hearts to God or to material things. The
wallet is a great window to the soul.
prayer | LORD, I realize that you continue to provide me with what I need. Help me to look past the
selfishness that resides in my heart and to suppress the sorrow I feel when I
do not get what I want. I praise You
in knowing that Your grace and mercy is enough, yet You want to do so much more
for us, Your creation. Guide us in our journey towards Spiritual purity in all
aspects of our life. Help us to see all of Your gifts and know that they are
more than enough. Amen
Daily
Alone Time with God |
Chapter
of the Week | Proverbs 18
Mon·day | Luke 12:13-21 13 Someone in the crowd said
to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man,
who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard
against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
his possessions.” 16 And
he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to
himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do
this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store
all my grain and my goods. 19
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry,”’ 20
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the
things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is
not rich toward God.”Tues·day | Deuteronomy 5:21 21 “’And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s’
Wednes·day | Proverbs 19:17 17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.
Thurs·day | Mark 7:14-23 14
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you,
and understand: 15 There
is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the
things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the
people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without
understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside
cannot defile him, 19
since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he
declared all foods clean.) 20
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of
the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, 22coveting,
wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come
from within, and they defile a person.”
Fri·day | 1 Timothy 6:17-19 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not
to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God,
who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be
generous and ready to share, 19
thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so
that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
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