Living in the Spirit
September 21, 2018
Scripture Reading: James 3:13-4:3, 7-8
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. –James 4:3, 7-8
How much of the discord in our world today is the direct result of greed? I really had never thought about that until I read the above scripture. Surely, the answer is most discord is caused by greed. Is greed so entrenched in our individual beings we think it is normal behavior?
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:10)
The knowledge of the fact that humans can easily be seduced by the love of money tells us that we make a choice when we love anything more than God and we control the choices we make. The hope in that statement is that once we accept the realness of the power of the love of money over our very being, we can choose to refocus our love on God. The result will be the end of all kinds of evil.
Some examples taken from recent headlines might be helpful:
- I am rich; therefore, I should not get the same sentence as the non-rich for the same crime or even be charged at all.
- I am rich; therefore, I have sexual license to do anything I want to anyone I want at any time without consequence.
- I am rich; therefore, I am rescued from natural disasters first even when I am in less peril than others.
- I am rich; therefore, I can buy legislation that will support my getting richer to the detriment of many.
There is an alternative. Much good comes from the contributions of the rich to bettering the world. Jesus even indicated that is what he intended for them to do.
From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (Luke 12:48b)
Prayer: Forgive us, Lord, when we are overcome by greed. Guide our choices in how we used the abundance in our lives. Amen.