Listening to the Holy Spirit:
What does it profit a man to gain all things and lose his soul? There is sweetness that is short-lived, and there is joy that feeds eternally. The things of the earth are as candy, sweet to the tongue, nourishing but little. He who eats what is true food, lives long and enjoys health for his days. The things of God are true food. The call of the coin melts away before it is swallowed. The desire is greater than the having, and the having a greater burden than what is desired. Find joy first in the things of God. Chase after these things, and they will not disappoint, and will be even greater than the expectation; for I am a generous God, and give more than enough to those who seek first My Kingdom. I have given you My Word, that you would know the greater things, that your heart would long first for these, as My Spirit speaks against greed and the envy that decays. Work for the greater things as hard as you work for the vain, and abundant blessing will replace the emptiness of having very much that is little and heavy.
Matt 6:21 (ESV) – For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
1 Tim 6:10 (NIV) – For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Mark 8:35-36 (ESV) – For whoever would save his life will lose it, bu t whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Matt 6:24 (ESV) – “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.
Matt 6:31-33 (ESV) – Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Ready for a tough one? At least this is a tough one for me, and I don’t think I’m alone. First, a little background you already know. In our natural state, without Christ, we live for ourselves, the people we care about, and we work to build our kingdom. Once we make a commitment to follow Jesus, He says it’s now about His Kingdom, and as we work and follow Him, He will take care of our kingdom. Now that’s a very big change.
He also said there are two masters we will be torn between: 1) Him, and the things that following Him provide, and 2) Money, and the things money can provide.
He said you will love and be devoted to only one of them, the other will be a very distant 2nd.
Here’s the hard question we all have to ask ourselves: Did we reorder kingdoms when we proclaimed Him as our King, or is our kingdom still before His?
Do you know how to tell? What are your highest hopes and dreams? What are your ultimate goals in life? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What do you put extra effort into?
If it is to provide and take care of those you love, that is still a good and noble thing, but wouldn’t you do that anyway?
Does going to church once a week show His Kingdom is now #1?
These are some very tough and revealing questions for any Christ follower in a culture where money itself can provide security, comfort, provision, and peace of mind, without the requirement of putting God’s Kingdom and righteousness first.
Some end up “successful” and seem to “have it all”, but Jesus said very directly, that won’t mean much if in the end they lose their soul.
As Christ followers, we are not above being fooled. We must be careful not to count money and comfort as God’s blessing, unless we first count the things of God more important than money and comfort. Take a look around, and if you need to change some priorities to put God and His goals back in first place, do it! Nothing we can work for is more important, as His Word works in you, today.
