"[God's] commandments are not burdensome. "
1 John 5:3
CHUMP CHANGE
Read It: 1 Timothy 6:9-11
We're in our final week on the subject of stewardship, we want to consider at least two more key biblical passages. We started yesterday with 1 Timothy 6 and will spend a couple more days in this chapter. Verse 9 is where you get into the problem Paul is talking about, the issue of greed versus contentment. This verse and verse 10 need to be read carefully to get at the meaning, because they're often misunderstood. Notice Paul doesn't say those who are rich are in for trouble. He's going to talk to the rich down in verses 17-19, which we'll look at tomorrow The people Paul is addressing here are those who "want to get rich." That is, their desire for more of this world's possessions is beginning to possess them. That's the lust for more we've been talking about. Verse 9 is an important verse because some people think God just wants to keep folk poor to keep them under His thumb or something. That's not it at all. God is looking out for our welfare. He wants to make sure we don't settle for the "chump change" of this world and miss His true riches. Besides, when we decide to pursue gold rather than godliness, ness, we bring upon ourselves a mess of problems. So God's not just trying to stunt your economic growth.
I've said it before: God is not against you bettering yourself if you do it without compromising godliness. But look what happens when money is your priority. First, you "fall into temptation." The original says you keep on falling. That is, you continually expose yourself to compromising situations. You also get caught in a "snare" like an animal lured into a trap. And finally you start doing "foolish and harmful" things you wouldn't do normally. No wonder the "love of money" leads to all kinds of evil. Verse 10 is often misquoted and misunderstood. Money is not immoral in itself. It's amoral, like your VCR. You can use it for good or for garbage. The only way to handle the temptation of greed is to flee (v. 11), do a 4.4 forty-yard yard dash in the other direction. If you really want to flee, God will put wings on your feet! Think About It No matter how much you get, if you have to leave God behind to do it, it's just chump change.
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