2006-12-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue writing about materialism. In the previous devotion, I used Peter's and my own experience with the "downsizing" of the nineties as an example of the chaos to families this trend has brought. Non-believing business leaders would insist that the profit first motive is necessary in a global economy. Being able to compete to remain in business is the issue. I will stand out on a limb with my own opinion that Christ knows better than these business leaders, and that relationships with people and with Him matters more. Let me assert that MT 6: 19-21, Christ's own words about storing our riches in heaven and not on earth over-ride anything these hardnosed and often greedy business leaders might think. In what I've written here, we see the clash between the worldly belief system and the godly one. This is a modern example of what Paul says in GA 5: 16-17. "What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do."
MT 19: 16-24 relates the story of the rich young man's encounter with Christ Himself. MT 19: 16-17, "One a man came to Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?' This is a very typical question for a traditional Jew to ask, because of the traditionally Jewish belief that one can work his way into heaven by doing "mitzvahs" or good deeds. Christ's response in (17) is "Why do you ask Me concerning what is good? There is only One Who is good. Keep the commandments if you want to enter life." When the young man asks Christ to what commandments He is referring, our Lord reiterates the Ten Commandments in (18). The young man goes on to say that he is keeping all the Ten Commandments and asks what else he can do. The Lord Jesus answers, in (21), "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then, come and follow Me." When the young man heard this, he must have decided that he couldn't follow Christ's directions, and went away sad, because he was very [materially] rich. Christ then turned to His disciples, who were present at the time, and said, in (24), "I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." This story forces believing people to look quite differently at their own loss of material wealth due to "downsizing" in the nineties, doesn't it? While this may sound trite, we can't take our earthly riches with us. Put in the context of God's oft-repeated promise to take care of the needs of His children, the acquisition of material wealth beyond our basic needs doesn't have as much meaning as it once did to us before coming to obedient faith.
The question of who can be saved comes to us immediately after Christ's encounter with the rich young man. MT 19: 25-26, "When the disciples heard this, they were completely amazed. 'Who then can be saved?' they asked. Jesus looked straight at them and answered, 'This is impossible for man, but for God everything is possible.'" Once again we encounter the difference between the human view of things and the one of God. The core issue is that of faith, taking God at His word. HE 11: 1, defines faith as "being sure of the things for which we hope, being certain of things we cannot see." God is not limited as man is by the physical laws of the universe. He can do anything He wants. Where money is concerned, we learn His attitude in HE 13: 5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. I will never leave you; I will never abandon you." Paul is inspired to go on saying in HE 13 :6, "Let us be bold, then, and say, 'The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?'" How does this apply to our modern economic situation? It is a question of trust in God. This does not mean that a person shouldn't do all he can to make a living and to help himself. But it does mean that if he finds himself in the situation that Peter and I are in, he must let God take leadership and trust in God to help. After all, we told in PS 46: 1, "God is our Shelter and our Strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." As for people who judge another based on how much money he makes or what he does for a living, there is no need to allow them to cause us to stray from our faith and ask, "Where is God?" God has never abandoned us. Instead, He is redirecting our priorities to obey what Christ spoke of in His Sermon on the Mount about storing our riches in heaven and not on earth. It's tough at times to let go and let God, but our very eternal lives hang in the balance.
PRAYER: O Lord, You are our Dearest Abba, the One to Whom we pray and offer well-deserved worship, adoration, and praise. We find ourselves at the leading edge of the conflict between a system of belief in You and one in which acquisition material things and earthly prestige comes first. You know this is a difficult place to be, because You are leading us to make a decision-one which You desire to be in favor of faithful obedience to You. Those of us who have made the latter decision may not receive earthly praise or lead lives of material comfort. However, we have begun the process of storing our riches in heaven. The realization that You are in leadership, that we must submit to Your will, and that You will provide (even though we may not see now how) doesn't come easily to us. Our human nature is in conflict with the Sprit within us, just as Paul wrote about in RO 7: 14-25. Only Your Son, Jesus Christ, can rescue us from this conflict. When all is said and done, any material things that we acquire will be left behind when we are finally able to answer Your call home to heaven. Such a call to an eternal life of bliss and close fellowship with You wouldn't have been possible if You hadn't made the sacrifice of Your only begotten Son on the cross. For that reason alone, we should depart from greed and efforts to gain earthly prestige in favor of faith in and obedience to You. Your sacrifices didn't stop with the physical life of Your Son, Who bore all the punishment for our iniquities [IS 53: 5]. You allowed us free agency to make the choice of which belief system we would follow. Once we came to faith in Jesus Christ, You sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, guide us to eventual perfection, and to teach us to understand the righteousness, justice, and wisdom of Your will. You have told us through the Psalmist in PS 91: 10-11, " Nothing bad will happen to you; no disaster will come to your home. He has put His angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go." This message has also been repeated in JER 29:11, "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope." Because Christ is the "first among many brothers" [RO 8: 29] to be resurrected to heaven, we understand that the hope we have of returning to Your side to be "joint heirs" with Him [RO 8: 17] is not foolish or futile. You are a righteous and honorable God, One Who keeps His promises. We offer You our submission, loyalty, respect, worship, praise and thanks. In the mighty name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
Next week in a continuing discussion of materialism, we will look at what happens when we allow the Spirit and not human desires to lead in our lives. A great gem out of the wisdom God gave Solomon in writing the book of Proverbs is found and repeated here from PR 3: 5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." These words have far-reaching implications. Surely they apply to materialism or the lack of it in our lives. It's tough to distinguish between wants and needs-impossible without God's help. Our Lord wants us to seek Him out in prayer, look for His direction, and obey Him. Often doing this isn't easy. That is certainly true in the matter of acquisition of material things. Every time we go into a store to buy something or we remain at home upset that we can't buy something because a neighbor has it, we need to turn to God. He encourages us and guides us with His answers to prayer and His word. 2 TIM 3: 16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed." While Scripture gives us general direction, God's answers to our prayers can be quite specific. What should be most comforting to us all is that God never goes off duty. He is always there for us-to love us, to guide us, and to comfort us [PS 121: 1-3]. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn