 |
 |
Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Our Obsession with Possessions
I always looked forward to going to my Grandmother’s house on Christmas Eve. No, it was not because of the mincemeat pie or the company of my cousins, but I knew Grandmother’s gift would be an envelope containing a five-dollar bill. I guess I should be embarrassed, but this ten-year-old boy knew that with money I could buy what I wanted, not just that pair of socks or handkerchiefs I usually got from others. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
It took me a few years to discover that money is not always the best gift, but it seems that possessions have always been man’s obsession. It was true with Balaam in Numbers 22. It was true with Elisha’s servant, Gehazi in 2 Kings 5. A man came seeking Jesus’ help to get his brother to divide an inheritance. Jesus’ response to the “possession obsession” was: “…one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses,” Luke 12:15.
We have reached the time of year when “gifts” become our obsession. We need a list so we do not forget anyone. At some point the blessedness Jesus pronounced upon giving (Acts 20:35) loses its positive qualities. This results from giving because we “should” or we “ought to” instead of because we want to. I guess we all need to work on that.
“Things” Can Become Idols
Thayer defines covetousness as “the inordinate desire to have more, especially that which belongs to another.”
To have money or possessions is not evil, but when we begin to put our “trust” in them, we have entered the road that leads to a form of idolatry, Colossians 3:5. That road does not lead in the direction of heaven.
Like fire, money is dangerous if it controls our lives. Being wealthy is no sin, but Jesus warned: “How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God,” Mark 10:24.
No, money and possessions are not evil within themselves, but when a man puts his trust and his faith in them he is bound for serious disappointment.
“Things” Cannot Bring Contentment
J. Paul Getty was at one time considered the richest man in the world, yet more than once he told friends, “I wish I had never been born.” A few years earlier, Jay Gould, who was also very wealthy, is quoted as saying, “I must be the most miserable man on earth.”
Why would men with tremendous wealth say such things? Perhaps a wealthy man who lived eleven centuries before Christ knew why. Solomon said, “He that loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loves abundance with increase,” Ecclesiastes 5:10.
Of course, money and possessions can bring some degree of satisfaction in everyday life, but not genuine, long-lasting happiness. Again, money is like fire—if you keep it under control, it can be used as a tool to bless many. Men with riches are told in 1 Timothy 6:17-18: “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.”
Stewards of God’s Blessings
As seen above, responsibility is a companion of riches and possessions. The key word on this subject is “stewards.” A steward is someone charged with the responsibility of the possessions of another. Elsewhere we are told that all those things we possess—our bank book, houses, furniture, clothes, credit card account, etc.—they already belong to God, and we merely have them “on loan” for a time. We then should use them to God’s advantage. All are to “give as he may prosper,” 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, and should also make full use of our time, our skills and talents and opportunities.
How has God prospered you? Have you thought about that lately? How about your family, your health, your job, your home? These are some of the blessings God has given us to use in His service. Are you being a good steward of those blessings? Parents teach their children by example in these things, and if they see you spend great amounts of money on worldly “things,” but give sparingly to the Lord, they learn just where God’s kingdom is found on your priority list.
Paul used the Macedonian Christians as examples to others in their giving, 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. If you read that context you will quickly see that this was so because they “first gave themselves to the Lord.” Who is first in your life? God’s work? Or your own pleasures? A young boy once put it all in perspective: “It’s not what you’d do with a million, if riches should e’er be your lot; but what you’re doing right now, with that dollar and a quarter you’ve got.”
What about you and your dollar and a quarter?
|
|
|
|
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,”
“…Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive,”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
