Fruits from the Money chapter of Desiring God
February 15, 2009
Heart motivation is crucial. How will we ever point them to Christ’s infinite worth if we are not driven, in all we do, by the longing to have more of Him? It would only be unloving if we pursued our joy at the expense of others. But if our very pursuit includes the pursuit of their joy, how is that selfish? How am I the less loving to you if my longing for God moves me to give away my earthly possessions so that my joy in Him can be forever doubled in your partnership of praise?
A very sobering warning to the rich. 1Tim 6:17 says to not set your “hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” This is not easy for the rich to do. That’s why Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23). It is hard to look at all the earthly hope that riches offer and then turn away from that to God and rest all your hope on Him. It is hard not to love the gift instead of the Giver. But this is the only hope for the rich. If they can’t do it, they are lost.
Critical thinking is essential for true, God-honoring wartime living. The pastor will ask, “Is it wrong to own a second home that sits empty part of the year?” And he will answer, “Maybe and maybe not.” He will not make it easy by creating a law. Laws can be obeyed under constraint with no change of heart; prophets want new hearts for God, not just new real estate arrangements… But he will help them decide. He will say, “Does your house signify or encourage a level of luxury enjoyed in heedless unconcern of the needs of others? Or is it a simple, oft-used retreat for needed rest and prayer and meditation that sends people back to the city with a passion to deny themselves for the evangelization of the unreached and the pursuit of justice?”
