By Pastor Greg...
There was a little
old lady who would come out every morning on the steps of her front porch,
raise her arms to the sky and shout, "Praise the Lord!" Well, one day an atheist moved into the house
next door. Over time, he became
irritated at the little old lady. So,
every morning he would step out onto his front porch and follow with,
"There is no Lord!"
Time passes with
the two of them carrying on this way every day.
Then one morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped
onto her front porch and shouted, "Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food, and I am starving. Please
provide for me, oh Lord!" The next
morning, she stepped onto her porch, and
there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "Praise the
Lord!" she cried out. "He has
provided groceries for me!" Well, the
atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, "There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!" The little old lady threw her arms into the
air and shouted, "Praise the Lord!
He has provided me with groceries, and
He made the Devil pay for them!”
I chuckle at that
story because, unknowingly, the atheist was being used by God. It’s true!
Here was a faithful woman who brought her need to God, and of all
people, a man who didn’t believe in God was being used by God to answer her
prayer.
Does it seem
troubling to you that many people appear oblivious to the needs of those around
them? Why is that? Why are some people blind to the obvious struggles people face in life? I suspect it is caused by the way these
people view their possessions.
Consider the story
we read in Luke 18. 18 Once a religious
leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit
eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.
20 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You
must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not
testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’” 21 The man replied, “I’ve
obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 22 When Jesus heard his
answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your
possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 But
when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. [1]
Jesus observed
that although this man acted very religious, his wealth had become a stumbling
block. This rich leader could not find
eternal life because of his attitude toward money and possessions. Of course, it wasn’t the money that kept him
separated from God; it was his attitude.
His money and possessions had become his source of security; they were
his life. His fear of losing his wealth
was greater than his fear of God. Just
think about that for a moment. This man would rather give up eternal life than
the money in his savings account. Naturally,
he would not be inclined to help the poor or the needy; to do so would take
away his financial security.
I suspect we are
seeing the same thing today.
In God’s economic
system it is the needs of others that come first, not the accumulation of
wealth. John the Apostle highlights this
attitude when he wrote, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother
or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person”
[2]
(1 John 3:17)? In contrast, Satan’s
economy causes a person to become selfish and greedy; they are stingy and
uncompassionate toward the needs of others.
They view money as something to be hoarded and protected. The more wealth they have, the more secure
they feel. Those who have been seduced
by Satan hold their money tightly in their hand
while insisting they are merely acting like
a “Good Steward.” But a “Good Steward”
does not hide their money away while
the needs of others are being neglected.
According to God, a “Good Steward” is someone who uses that wealth for
the work of His kingdom (compare the Parable of the Three Servants in Matthew 25:14-30). God gives His
“Well done” to those who use wealth
for what is good, not hoard the wealth out of fear. Satan has corrupted wealth and turned it into
something dark and evil. He has made
wealth a stumbling block… something that keeps us away from God.
In our world
today, some people are seduced by Satan’s counterfeit religious system; a
system that entices people to worship false gods or the pleasures of life.
But, Satan has another trap. This
“trap” affects our attitude toward finances and possessions. It steals our trust. Satan’s corrupt economic system is a way of
living where wealth and possessions become a person’s foundation in life. In Satan’s economy, there is no room for
God. Those who have been seduced by this
corrupt system give birth to self-sufficiency.
They give in to greed, selfishness, and fear. A person living according to Satan’s economy
trusts in their own finances or possessions.
Instead of turning to God in a crisis, they turn to their wealth; it has
become their security in life. They
trust in themselves. And anyone who
places their trust in themselves will live their life in fear; fear of not having enough wealth to sustain them and fear of losing that financial foundation.
This is Satan’s
economy; he seduces us into a misplaced trust.
He lies to the unsuspecting, convincing them that their security in life
can be found in the things which moth and rust can destroy. In Satan’s economic system, people “desire extravagant
luxury,” and “the merchants of the
world grown rich” (Revelation 18:3). And this system of wealth and luxury sets
the standard of living in this world.
Like some temptress, “She boasts in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no
helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn” [3] (Revelation
18:7). In other words, Satan deceives us
into thinking that we have nothing to fear in life provided we have sufficient
wealth.
But one day, God is going to pass judgment
against this corrupt economic system; this way of doing business that lures the
unsuspecting away from God. This is what
is judged and destroyed in Revelation 18.
As the Bowls of Wrath are poured out upon the earth, this counterfeit
economy is finally destroyed. This
system of wealth that has stolen our trust – this “Babylon” – will ultimately fall.
Don’t get me wrong. God is not condemning buying and
selling. But He is passing judgment
against those who embrace Satan’s counterfeit economy. Satan has taken an economic system, corrupted
it, and used it as a stumbling block. As
we see in the wealthy ruler from Luke 18, possessions and wealth can even keep
a religious person separated from God. It
does this because it steals our trust.
Jesus warned that
a day was coming when money and possessions would fade away. And this is what we see happening in
Revelation 18. In a day, it will all be
gone (Revelation 18:8). The whole
corrupt financial system will be destroyed.
And people will be terrified; they will weep and cry (Revelation 18:15). And then what? What will all their wealth and possessions
have gained them in this life? Jesus
warns, “For what
does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”[4]
(Mark 8:36). For this reason, a
Christian is not to store up treasures on earth, but instead store up treasures
in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).
Please don’t
misunderstand what I am saying here.
Money and possessions are not evil.
It is not wrong to earn a wage or sell something for a profit. Commerce is not sinful. But, instead of
being something good that honors the Lord, we have allowed Satan to deceive us,
and suddenly God has been replaced by money, wealth, and possessions; He is no
longer Lord of our life.
In Revelation 18
we read that this whole financial foundation that has been corrupted by Satan
will one day be destroyed. Those who
stored up treasures on earth will lose everything in a day, but not those who have stored up treasures
in Heaven. “What I’m trying to do here is to get you to
relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s
giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things,
but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality,
God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all
your everyday human concerns will be met.
34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and
don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help
you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes”[5]
(Matthew 6:31-34).
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Lk 18:18–23). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(1 Jn 3:17). Carol Stream, IL.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Re 18:7). Carol Stream, IL.
[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Mk 8:36). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language
(Mt 6:31–34). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
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