"Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. "
1 John 2:15
DON'T FIXATE ON IT
Read It: 1 Timothy 6:17-19
A few years ago former heavyweight boxing champ Muhammed Ali was interviewed by a major sports magazine. You may know that Ali suffers from Parkinson's disease, and his walk has been reduced to a slow and painful shuffle. His speech is also affected. The article told how it used to be when All was champ. Ali said in the story: "I had the world, and it wasn't nuthin'." That's the message the Bible wants you and me to get! This world is "nuthincompared to what God has in store for us. That's why Paul reminds those who are rich not to get a big head or fall in love with their wealth. Now Paul is not jumping on rich folk, and neither am I. Some of God's best stewards are wealthy believers who handle their wealth for His glory. And you and I don't need to be getting ulcers because we're jealous over how God is blessing someone else.
But wealth does bring responsibility-and notice Paul doesn't set any monetary amounts here. Compared to the rest of the world, we Americans are wealthy. So don't check out on me here. Besides avoiding pride, Paul also tells us not to "fix [our] hope" on money. That is, we don't get locked into it, bolted down to it so that it controls us and quenches our desire for godliness. That's good advice for several reasons, one of which is that riches are uncertain. You don't want to be hugging too tight on something that could disappear tomorrow. Instead, we're to fixate on the God who gives us these things to enjoy. This goes back to what we talked about last weekend. God is not a tightfisted fisted miser who hoards His blessings. When we are pleasing to Him, He delights in giving us good things to enjoy. Verses 18-19 ought to sound real familiar by now. They restate the principles ciples we've been studying over the last few weeks. God places His resources in your hands so you might use them to do good, help others, and bring Him glory. And as you do, you are laying up for yourself treasure sure in heaven. Any questions? Think About It When you use your time, talents, and treasure to make spiritual investments, you've discovered "life indeed" (v. 19).
No Comments