Jesus said, “No-one
can be a slave to two masters, for either that person will hate one of them and
love the other, or else they will be devoted to one and despise the other. You
can’t be a slave to God and to money.”
—
Matthew 6:24 (USC)
The King’s splendour is so resplendently remarkable as to really not
know how exactly to remark upon it! He who is the Name above all names, he who
created the beginning and the end and everything that exists, has ever existed,
and will ever exist, will bring forth the Age to come. He who is all this, and
infinitely more, surpassing all we can comprehend, we are also destined to meet.
We will come face to
face with this glorious and fearful God – the Lord Jesus.
He will take all our
thoughts and words and deeds into account on that final day!
(We are building to
a crescendo, here, so please now begin to anticipate it.)
We can only but
imagine what that day will be like. Many of us look forward to it. So many of
us, still, are incredibly fearful for what may come to pass. And a blend of
both thoughts — boyish joy and frightful reverence — are appropriate. What we
imagine is most certainly the light at the end of the tunnel.
That light is coming, toward us, with eternal certainly
and untarrying ferocity.
Then we come to the
matter of the word, “money.” Money! What fools we would be to have money set up
as a god anywhere near God, yet we are so concerned about our mortgages, our
retirements, our health funds, our social security, and our world swallows our
faith in an ever habitual gulp.
We are right to do
all we can to bring security into the sphere of our family life.
To do so is part of
our worship of Jesus. But subtle is that balance. Whenever money comes to be of
a sense equal with God, our faith is at threat and we begin to live like mere
mortals, concerned with things of the world, again.
Humble saints, this
is a temptation of the Evil One.
Even as we squirrel
away money for that rainy day, we are ever closer to the reversion of our
faith. Not that it isn’t wise to save and be diligent stewards of our worldly
cares. Those resources God has placed in our hands are there for a purpose and
reason. But we are not to worry about it. We must hold our money and our
possessions ever lightly.
***
One Who is All is Coming.
***
QUESTIONS in REVIEW:
1. What grip has money (or a lack of
security) over your life? How can you rescind such a horribly disdainful grip?
2. Will you take seriously that responsibility
God has placed in your hand to steward his Kingdom? Part of the responsibility
is how you handle money.
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
Note: USC version is Under the Southern Cross, The New Testament in Australian English
(2014). This translation was painstakingly developed by Dr. Richard Moore, a NT
Greek scholar, over nearly thirty years.
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