Is money as important as we believe it to be in this world? Some say yes – and some will say no.
What would you rather have in the world – world peace or
everyone has enough money to sustain themselves? Some will say peace – some will say money for
everyone, and some will even go so far as saying if everyone has enough money
this will create peace.
I truly beg to differ on this. Not because of what I think – but rather
because of what I believe.
If you believe people have enough money to create peace –
this means you have a desire or love of money.
The Bible teaches one thing on this matter: 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the
root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Now – let’s think for a moment – God gave some people money
to help out the Kingdom, to help the people of God. Some of these men were richer than we can
prossibly start to comprehend. Yes there
was a purpose for these men to be rich, to have all this money – but at the end
of the day people were still starving.
People were still going without food and people were looking for
something greater – they were looking for a Messiah.
Their Messiah came – and is no other than Jesus Christ. Jesus was one of the poorest men to ever walk
the earth. Yes – the famous/infamous Son
of God – Jesus Christ – was probably the poorest man to ever walk the
earth. Yet – here we are in a post Jesus
day – and we are still longing for money to help one another. What did Jesus say?
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love
one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
I find this verse very interesting. Love one another – as I have loved you. Jesus had no money to give anyone – was He
helping the poor by giving them money? No
– He wasn’t. Yet why do we as declaring
ourselves as Christians – followers of Christ – feel we need money to help one
another? The answer is simple: we don’t need money.
You see – people start to value their worth with how much
money they have, or how many people they’ve helped, or how many times they’ve
forgiven someone. If this is you – than you
just missed the entire message of the Gospel – as it’s never been about any of
this. You receive your value from Jesus
alone – because once all those other things are taken away from you, all those
wonderful things you’ve done are taken away from you – what do you have
left? Absolutely nothing! If you get your value from Jesus Christ -–and
all those other things are added unto you and later taken away – what do you
have left? You still have Jesus left!
Yes – God has given people throughout history – but this
simply goes to show how selfish man is.
You won’t help someone just from the goodness of your heart – you want
payment in return for your works. Ok –
sometimes you may not be that way – but how often do you do something for
someone to help them out and later you need a helping hand and are asking that
person you once helped for help – but they can’t because they’re committed with
something already? Of those times – how often
do you try and guilt them into helping you because you once helped them out?
I’ll tell you one thing – if that’s a category you’re in –
you never did it out of love to begin with.
You were doing it out of selfishness because you were hoping and
expecting they come back and help you when you need it.
Now – that doesn’t sound very Jesus like.
Jesus – paid the ultimate price for us. Jesus died on a cross to pay the price for
our sins – that we wouldn’t be ashamed – that we can come forward and that
regardless of what others think – we can go out and love the world. We can go out and do things and not need
money to do them. With this we can
change the world. In the long run – we would
eventually eliminate the need of a currency in the world. Why?
I tell you – it’s not money that makes the world go
around. It’s people. Take people out of the equation and what good
is your money?
People may watch the movie “A Christmas Carol” – a book
originally written by Charles Dickens – every year. Do you see it’s not just about an old rich
man who says “bah – humbug” – but it’s actually a book about everyone of us who
feel we need money to go on. In the
book, in all the revisions of the movie – we always see the Scrooge character
give up on money because he comes to realize it’s not about money – it never
has been. It’s about love and
relationships.
This my friends – is what makes the world go around: Love and Relationships.
1 Corinthians 13
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Way of Love
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And
if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have
not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I
have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does
not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful;[b] 6 it does
not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies,
they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will
pass away. 9 For we know in part and we
prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect
comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a
child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now
we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then
I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
