S -
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV): "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be
content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave
you; never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?""
O - Love
for money (lawful, daily bread, meet the basic needs money) is directly
connected to fear and specifically the fear of humans. This is a great insight and great difficulty
for us all. Our world, secular and
religious, shapes us to believe that we must take care of ourselves in a way
which does not directly involve God in our daily bread realities. Yet, Jesus specifically addresses this sad
and tragic mindset on numerous occasions (cf. Luke 12; Matthew 6, etc.). This warped love is easily identified in one
of the factors which inspires it … the want for more; more for us, for our
families and even for our God. This want
for lawful things discourages contentment in current circumstance, incites comparisons
with others which is always counter to God's Kingdom, inspires us to
independent actions (for Him) rather than interdependent living (with Him).
Jesus will identify the only conflicting entity which will compete for our
loyalty on a regular, daily basis.
He will unveil this in a conversation with the overtly religious,
tithing people of his day. Luke 16:13-15
records the words of Jesus and the setting he was in: "No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money." The Pharisees,
who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them,
"You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows
your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's
sight."
A - "No
servant", i.e. no human, is a designation which includes ALL of us. I am more
than susceptible to this "want" and the fear it is directly connected
to. The result is a form of separation
from him who loves me/us most and is the One from whom all blessings flow. All the gold and silver is his and he can
give it to anyone he wishes. Cash to
live on, cash to travel on until reimbursement can happen, cash to give and
bless others all want me to love them as I'm loving God. Jesus tells me this cannot be done. Money wants me to love it but it will never
love me; it vies for both my attention and my loyalty. A phrase from Saul of
Tarsus applies to this context of living: “I am saying this for your own good,
not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion
to the Lord."
P - Lord
of Daily Bread and Lord of me,
Thank you for so clearly
identifying this subtle and deadly point of conflict. I admit that the connection is direct and
that I am susceptible to it … even in this day.
You call me to trust, to fierce personal loyalty. You call me to rely on you even for daily bread
issues … to never work or live for you but only with and in you. I choose you back!!! My life and times are in your hands … do what
is in your heart to do. I do love you back. I will trust in you with all my
heart and I will NOT lean on my own understanding. I welcome you and your words about life on
earth … unto new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too
wonderful for me.
Staying connected to you,
Steve
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