Money, money, money. Reality is the world runs on money. We have to have money to buy things. All the way from the basic needs of life to the things that make life easier to the things we want just for our enjoyment. We work all week, every week. We have to. We have to make a living. There are also recreational things to do. Things for fun and entertainment. So it goes without saying, we have to have money.
Now enter Satan. Here he comes and finds a grand opportunity to tempt us and distract us. The devil ain’t stupid. He knows what he’s doing. And this is one area he is really good at. Money can be a downfall. There is the temptation to want money so much that we work all the time without anything else on our mind. We can be distracted by all the things we need and want. We can give our lives to the pursuit of things to the neglect of our eternal soul. The love of money is the root of all kinds of sin. That’s why Jesus said what He did in Matthew 6:19-24. Jesus knows that this can be a problem for us. So He tells us…
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Where is our treasure? What is our heart set on? Earthly things? Or Heavenly things? Jesus tells us that everything we gain in the world is just going to waste away and be destroyed. Or somebody’s going to steal it. It doesn’t last. And there won’t be any of it in eternity. But the hope of Heaven is eternal life. Eternal joy. Eternal reward. Being with God. That’s where the real treasure is. So what are we focused on? We can’t serve two masters. We can’t give our lives to the pursuit of money and to God at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
So we have to choose: money or God? Jesus said that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. That means that life is more than a bunch of stuff and money. You can be the richest guy on planet earth. But when you’re dead like Rover, dead all over, then what? What’s going to happen to everything you’ve had? It’s all going to be gone. You ain’t taken it with you. So what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your own soul? Is it worth it to have a bunch of money now and then spend eternity in Hell? No. There is nothing wrong with having a bunch of money. But you better have a whole bunch more of God. Give your heart fully to God. Focus on the Heavenly reward. Be rich towards God.
A Cord of Blue 