We are made in the image of God, and our basic nature is a reflection of His. God is love and so it naturally follows that humanity needs to love and to be loved.
Without love & affection, babies fail to thrive.
Without love, children learn to hate.
Without love, our lives are hollow and empty.
Love is vital for a happy, fulfilled, abundant life.
So, it’s normal to care. The real question is: What or who are we going to love?
Sometimes we care about having things more than we do about people.
Money, Money, Money
Stereo-typically, men love their cars, and women love fashion & home furnishing. Owning a sports car, a yacht, beautiful paintings and jewellery, a holiday home – these are thing people aspire to.
The holiday season is upon us and many of us need a break. As the world has locked down, travel is something many of us have really missed.
What’s wrong with these things?
What’s wrong with the love of money?
No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6 v 24
Jesus explained it clearly. You cannot serve two masters. You must choose one.
Money is a great servant, but a terrible master.
Jesus is our Lord & Master and we only have one Father in heaven.
He doesn’t give up his rightful place to anyone or anything.
The Problem with Money
Our security, our status, our identity and our power all come from Almighty God.
One of the problems with money is that many people look to money to give them things that should only come from God.
Mankind looks to money to give them security for the future. They trust in the amount in their bank account. It is their hope.
Status and even identity can come from how much we earn, or how much we have acquired.
With wealth, comes earthly power.
If you are rich, why do you need to trust in God?
If you are not so rich, but you spend all your time working and striving for more money,
are you trusting the Lord to provide for you in the future?
Both rich & poor can have a problem with their attitude towards money.
Root of Evil
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil
1 Timothy 6 v 6 - 10a
This is a more accurate translation of the last phrase that the traditional one.
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil:
People steal, scam & cheat to get money.
Employers exploit their workers.
Corrupt officials take bribes.
Dictators & politicians use power to accumulate wealth for their own families.
To protect their wealth, they spurn the poor and even their own relatives. They despise those without money and treat them as if they have less value in the sight of God.
The rich become arrogant, selfish and ignorant.
The poor, who long for a celebrity lifestyle, despise themselves
and worship musicians, footballers or models.
So much evil springing from one source – the love of money.
Both rich & poor can love money.
Give it away
Jesus challenges one young man to give away all he had and then watched him walk away. St Francis of Assisi did give away his inheritance. He became a poor friar, who was rich in the sight of God.
Most of us are not called to give everything away, but to steward what we have responsibly.
We are called to be content with what we have.
We are also called to be generous and one way we can check our attitude is to give generously. It will reveal your heart.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
Matthew 6 v 21
Money, Money, Money - ABBA
A catchy song, with a vintage video.