They That Will Be Rich

Just want to share what God has been teaching me in the word lately...

I Timothy 6:5-10
"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contenment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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."

Romans 8:32
"He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

Job 1:21
"And Job said, 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.'"

Matthew 6:19-21
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."



Whoa...
You can grab all kinds of truth from these verses.

Godliness:
A life manifested in repentance, faith, a hunger for prayer and God's word, obedience and worship to God, holiness.

Contentment:
A state of being satisfied with one's circumstances, stuff, etc.

G+C=GG Now, there's a formula that you can hold on to for life. The knowledge that we serve a sovereign God would lead us to the absolute truth of God owning everything and we are just stewards. Also, that God promised to provide our needs. How shall He not freely give us all things? With that knowledge, how can we not find contentment? The Lord is blessed when he gives and also when he takes away. Where our treasure is our hearts are right along side whatever we deem to be valuable to us. My question is what is eternal value?

Lately, I've gotten pretty wrapped up in the non-essentials of life. I also have not been very content with becoming more godly, but would rather fill my arms with the things of this world to find contentment. Nothing wrong with money (hey, I like it pretty well), stuff, etc., but if that is where we find our contentment in this life. Yikes! For me, I love to shop (not for groceries!) for anything and somehow it brings this rush of happiness. It's usually not stuff for me either, but I enjoy heaping up things to give to someone else. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, I get more joy out of someone's reaction to a gift than I do on God's own pleasure with me. What are my motivations, are they godly?

We've also been remodeling lately and my goodness, that gets expensive. You can't just throw something up and there, it's remodeled. It's gotta' be the rug, the curtains, the trim around the top, every detail needs to assimulate a house in a better homes and gardens mag. And what a lot of time it all is. My husband has been a very busy man. Now, nothing wrong with remodeling, but what would be wrong with just being content with the house the way it is? I struggle with this, because we live in a very old and runned down home. When the money runs out (and it has) I have to be content with this house by force anyway.

And may I reiterate that gain does not equal godliness. In this era of the "name it and claim it" idea, people are convinced that God has a wealthy path for all Christians. God is God despite our wealth or lack thereof. He still promised us the same things in His word. He chooses some to be rich and some to struggle to keep their heads above water. We have seen both sides of the coin for ourselves. We have had times where we had nothing and now we have too much. God was always working His plan in us. We weren't any less spiritual when we made 5 dollars and some change an hour. Nor are we any more blessed or spiritual because my husband has a good paying job. To teach that we need to have more faith to gain riches or that we need to denounce sin to be on the path of wealth is, my friends, heretical.

Just scattered thoughts on what the Lord has shown me as of late....