Daily Devotional for Monday, March 25

The Consternation of the Selfish Rich

“Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days,” James 5:3.

In the movie “Wall Street,” Gordon Gecko said, “The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right.” That quote is quite famous, and many say it as if it is a standard which we should aspire. That is the mindset in the world today: folks want their money, and they want it now.

How we consider money is one of the most accurate reflections of what is in our hearts. If your love for money is more significant than your love for God, it will show in your life. In James chapter 5, we see that those hearing James’ message had allowed their love for money to change them in evil ways. They had exploited workers and mistreated others in the pursuit of riches. Did you know that is not pleasing to God? These men loved their money more than anything else. Jesus taught that the greatest commandment was to love God with one’s all, followed by loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

Financial blessings, or the lack of them, do not reflect God’s favor or lack of favor toward us. On the other hand, those with them may tend to think of themselves as quite capable and self-sufficient. On yet another hand, those who have none may be more willing to look toward the Lord as their hope. Having said that, the only thing clear is that we make choices about how we react to our financial situation. What do you look toward? Do you look toward what you have accomplished or what Jesus accomplished?

JUST A THOUGHT
God has no problem with His children being financially blessed; He does have a problem if we love the blessing of it more than the One who gave it.

Wally Fry