Dare 2 Share - But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction- The Apostle Paul
Oftentimes when I am cruising around town with my kiddos, Chandler (my six year old) will invariably want to buy something. It could be a happy meal, candy, pizza, you name it. I usually am able to get whatever he’s asking for, but sometimes I don’t have any cash on me- so then it’s a “no”.
That used to work, until Chandler discovered the concept of a credit card. Now he is awed by the power of that little piece of plastic. The funny thing is that he has a very difficult time understanding the difference between “credit” and “debit”, so he decided to combine the two concepts- and when he did I was reminded of a very important Biblical truth. Let me explain-
We were driving home one night, and I was kinda anxious to get there. As I mentioned before, Chandler wanted to stop on the way and get something. I didn’t have any cash, so when I mentioned that to him, he immediately came back with this sentence:
‘Well Daddy, why don’t you buy it with your 'dread-it' card”?
Yep, he’s right. We should all have a certain amount of dread and dismay when it comes to the derisive dollar, do you know why?
One day (about 2000 years ago) Jesus was in a financial discussion with the rich pastors of His day…
"No one can serve two masters! For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, naturally scoffed at all this. Then he said to them, "You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What this world honors is an abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:13-15)
The Master doesn’t mince words…we should all be afraid, very afraid of the potential dominance of dough.
Notice He didn’t say, “it is hard to serve two masters”, or “few people can serve two masters”…it’s as plain as the nose on George Washington’s face: no one can serve two masters.
That includes me, and it includes you.
Perhaps today would be a good time to do a “who’s the boss?” inventory. Let me describe someone whose king is cash:
$ He/she thinks about money more than God.
$ He/she spends more time shopping/looking through catalogues than at church/reading the Bible.
$ He/she believes in the term ‘my money’ (which it really isn’t)
$ He/she makes school/career decisions based on future financial gain
$ He/she thinks that tithing is an Old Testament principle that is no longer valid
$ He/she has no clue about the difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’
$ He/she parts with money as cheerfully as a mother bear with her cubs
Get the picture? For many of us it is time to add a “dread-it” card to our wallet/purse- and don’t leave home without it!
Questions:
1) Do any of those descriptions apply to me?
2) How can I better demonstrate that King Jesus is all?
3) How much do I cheerfully give to my local church/ministry? (2 Corinthians 9:7)
