The Christian, The world, and God
John the apostle wrote,
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1John 2:15-17.
Here John echoes the words of Jesus who said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one 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. Matthew 6:19-24.
We as believers in Jesus need to decide where our first love is. There is nothing wrong with having money and riches. It is when that money and riches become gods in our life that the problem starts. When they become more important that God.
We cannot stand with our feet in both worlds.
Matthews gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich man,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”Matthew 19:16-22.
In order to be true followers of Jesus we need to be willing to give up everything we have of material value in this world if necessary.
God may never require us to give up our material possessions. Never the less we must be willing to do so if God asks.
Are you willing to do so?
Where is your true riches?
Please think about it.
John the apostle wrote,
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1John 2:15-17.
Here John echoes the words of Jesus who said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one 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. Matthew 6:19-24.
We as believers in Jesus need to decide where our first love is. There is nothing wrong with having money and riches. It is when that money and riches become gods in our life that the problem starts. When they become more important that God.
We cannot stand with our feet in both worlds.
Matthews gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich man,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”Matthew 19:16-22.
In order to be true followers of Jesus we need to be willing to give up everything we have of material value in this world if necessary.
God may never require us to give up our material possessions. Never the less we must be willing to do so if God asks.
Are you willing to do so?
Where is your true riches?
Please think about it.
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