Essential 100—Read:
I Timothy 6:3-21
“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.” (I Timothy 6:17, NLT)
I suppose this is akin to closing the barn door after the cows got out, but God’s Word has been telling us all along about the uncertainly of wealth and the foolishness of obsessing over the amassing of a financial fortune. The crisis on Wall Street and the fear and loathing on Main Street that we are now reading about in the daily headlines were predictable, not only because of the greed and incompetence that led to it, but because the eternal Word of God said it would be so.
Obviously, the timing of this ongoing economic instability in the year of a national election gives Americans their best opportunity to put people into positions of power who are true public servants: people of integrity, wisdom, responsibility, foresight, courage, conviction, and selflessness. This is arguably our best chance in a long while to get government right—and we need to rise up as citizens and demand it!
However, the more important opportunity tucked away in these dangerous ecoomic currents is for believers to rethink their financial philosophy. My suspicion is that most of us—and I include myself—have gotten a little too cozy with the economics of a world system that is fundamentally corrupt and inexorably headed for divine judgment.
I want to challenge you to put your financial philosophy as well as your current economic practices through the filter of I Timothy 6, and see what kind of a grade you come away with. Re-read Paul’s advice to Timothy in light of this current mess; pay particular attention to what he has to say about money and our attitudes toward it. And most important, recalibrate your personal economic practices to come into line with God’s Word, which among other things, profoundly counsels of with this truth:
“True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (I Timothy 6:7)
We will get through this current financial mess—I have no doubts. It might be painful and long, who knows, but we will endure. But it will happen again—mark my word. So why not prepare for it by simply and ruthlessly living according to God’s precepts.
I am not an economist—by a long shot, but I will bet on God’s storehouse principles any day over the Treasury Secretary’s advice!
“The real measure of our wealth is how much we should be worth if we lost our money.” ~J. H. Jowett
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