No matter how much you have you want more and so never find
rest. Solomon would know, his wealth was
fabulous and as he says here, as his wealth increased so did the number of
mouths he fed with that wealth. It is a
fleeting thing and a vain thing to have wealth so why do we set our store by
it? We worry about losing it and we
worry that it isn’t enough, no matter how much we have. In the end, we take nothing with us, it is of
no ultimate or eternal value to us at all.
It doesn’t ensure our future or the future or our progeny because it can
be lost or taken at any time. Knowing
all these truths still doesn’t completely convince my heart to turn away, the
allure is too great, Lord help me.
The Pharisees accuse Jesus of breaking with tradition and
Jesus immediately turns the tables and asks why they break the commandment of
God. I believe that is the ultimate
trump card in the game, I’ll see your human tradition and raise you a Godly
commandment. He uses this question as a
take-off for teaching about what matters to God most. The Pharisees worry too much about minors and
leave off the truly important things. It
isn’t what goes in but what comes out that defiles us. Those things expose the true condition of our
hearts, that is the reason Paul said that the love of money is the root of all
evil. It isn’t money itself that is the
root of all evil, but the love of money, our attachment to it. If we guard our hearts and deal with their
lusts and desires we will make greater progress in righteousness than in bodily
discipline. (That, however, does not
mean that bodily disciplines are unimportant, they are needful as well.)
Formerly, when you did not know God, you
were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.” The argument would necessarily be that now we
know God and are no longer enslaved by those things. Is that entirely true in your life? Certainly I would say that I don’t see that
fully in my own life. Too often we
continue to live for things under the sun, just as we did formerly. Paul understood transformation of our hearts
and minds to be complete but he wasn’t naïve about that transformation, he knew
that it took effort and cooperation with the Spirit of God, it required a
person to completely yield their life to Him.
It requires the attitude of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
understanding the call of the flesh but saying, “Nevertheless, not my will but
yours.” It is painful to let go of our
will and our desires but in the end do they matter anyway?
Save us from weak
resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.
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