Money

1 Timothy 6:10

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.

Some translations say all evil, some say all sin.The version you read does matter, you cannot love something that cannot love you back.

Disney made a laughing stock of Scrooge McDuck when we would enter his vault and swim in his gold coins. That’s just silly.

Perhaps a better way of looking at it is in the word craving. That is linked to appetite and then we might look at how we spend our money. Some crave attention and they spend their money trying to be noticed. How they do that differs, fast cars, big houses, fancy clothes, and trophies of all sorts. Today’s youth want likes, and views from an unseen mob they don’t even know.

Craving power is also a popular concept. Influence peddlers abound and take on many forms. It is not limited to governments, politicians and media outlets. Those with the most sinister need for power will often keep their pool of victims small to go unnoticed for as long as possible.

Whole industries prey on the weakness of the human condition. How many dietary supplements have we seen lately on the telly? They hire who they consider trustworthy to promote their product in order to increase their sales. Beauty products play to vanity and that is a billion dollar industry.

Limited time offer. Inventory is going fast. Only two per customer. Buy one now and get the second one at half price. Sound familiar?

Let me make you an offer that is free.

Isaiah 55:1

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

John 6:35

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

It is free to you because Jesus paid for it with His life.

Great Mysteries

1 Timothy 3:16

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

As I said yesterday, we do love a good mystery. It is a part of the human condition. God made us this way. We seek to understand. What we seek to understand defines us in ways that we will not understand until we are satisfied.

Psalm 17:15

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

This was always one of my favorite quotes. Now I realize I will never be satisfied until I awake from that long sleep. While I was pleased with the thought, I will never find satisfaction in this life. I will always want to be more than I am.

I am not what I was and I am grateful, but not satisfied. I am changing more and more each day but I am not satisfied. I now see the mystery of godliness, it only ends with being taken up.

The mystery now is in when and how that comes into being. Seeking to discover that mystery will only end in unhappiness because it is a thing hidden from us all until the time of the end.

Why? Because it is a distraction from the will of God for us at this moment, today.

Seeking God’s will is selfless. Seeking to be satisfied is selfish.

We know that the flesh opposes the spirit. We perceive the natural world with eyes of flesh but in the spirit we may see that God’s Word is being proven to be true. Where the world is headed is into a future that God has predicted with perfect knowledge. Trying to make world events fit His prophecies is a fool’s errand. In the flesh it will create fear and doubt which works against the spirit and our calling.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

It is my opinion that we are not there yet. I’m not looking for the son of perdition because he does not change my calling in Christ. We all have work to do. Do the will of the Father, that is selfless.