July 27th – Blind Ambition

Taking It to Work:

One of my favorite actors is Russell Crowe. Now I really don’t know much about him, except that whatever character he plays, it is always very, very believable, and they are not all the same. He’s very versatile and very convincing.

Now, because I really don’t know Mr. Crowe, and I really don’t have the desire to follow him in real life. I can’t really say if I like him, or know anything about who he really is. I only know the facades, the fictional characters he played in his movies.

That is what the Holy Spirit is reminding us about today. But instead of an acting career clouding who we really are, we are being reminded that the love and pursuit of money can cloud who we really are, clouded to the point that we may not really know ourselves outside that pursuit. We may not see ourselves as we should, and the people around us may not really know the “real” us either.

The Bible does not say money is a bad thing, rather it says that the ‘love’ of money is a bad thing. One of the primary reasons is that those who focus their life’s efforts on riches, can focus on little else. The family may have lots of toys, go to the best schools, take great vacations, have a big house and the latest in tech, but even with “having it all”, relationships with the breadwinner of the house can be distant.

It happens all the time. The job owns the Dad or the Mom, sometimes to the point that although very successful in the view of the world, they end up with a very shallow faith-life, and sometimes catastrophes at home. Christians are obviously not immune, and the truly great things in God’s eyes can be traded away day-by-day, dollar-by-dollar.

We need to have a balance. We need to love God, love our family, and love those that He has placed around us; not love making and spending money. Money may provide things for those we love, but it won’t provide what they truly need, to know and love you, as you know and love them.

Make God’s priorities the driving priorities, and who you really are, and what God has called you to be, will be seen with clarity, by you and them, as His Word works in you, today.

1Tim 6:10 (ESV) – 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.

1John 4:20 (ESV) – If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Matt 6:21 (ESV) – For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Listening to the Holy Spirit:

Without love of others, vision of yourself is clouded. Those who walk in selfishness, do not experience life in full. Loss of riches fills the sleepless heart. Gain owns the thoughts of the day. Years flee, along with the life contained within, forgotten or traded, names for numbers. He who labors for the witness of men, and gains that his worth might gain as well, it is he who discovers not his call, and knows not those he would have loved. His life is sold for stature, and lasting meaning for fleeting pleasures. Be careful, for the lure of riches fools even My followers. The weight of silver in the hand speaks louder than the Spirit, deafening children to the wisdom of the Father. Do not be deceived; love pays highly its owner, and eternal is its dividend. True gold is between brothers, and a good wife is beyond the world’s treasures. Love of others is the way of the Father, and the eyes of he who loves, are clear to know himself.