L, P)How...
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(L, P)
"How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!" Being rich is not bad in itself. Most of us aspire to being at least wealthy enough not to have to worry about every fractional increase in the wave of inflation. It is what riches do to us. Having things not only becomes important, but maintaining them becomes an all-consuming way of life. It becomes a "seek first" mentality and way of life. How many of our people have not told us that they would give more of their riches to the Lord, but they need the "nest egg" of security, the fall-back-upon cache, in case the roof springs a leak, the furnace goes out, the appliances break down. Have you ever noticed that when one trusts God's promises at face value, the twenty-year roof lasts thirty? The dryer groans after ten years, but manages to keep "whirring away" after fifteen? We can't believe how healthy the family has stayed? It's true! We must never say "give more; serve more; and your 'stuff' will last longer." But the point is, when we live and act as if our future and our security depend on how much we have "stashed away" and how cunning we have been, God abandons us to our own system of security. He says in effect that if you are going to abandon me and my promises to take care of you, you better be extremely frugal, cunning, and shrewd -- because you are on your own. You are all you have going for you. When we trust Christ to be our greatest treasure, then taking care of us becomes part of his keeping the honor of his name.
-- Schroeder
"How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!" Being rich is not bad in itself. Most of us aspire to being at least wealthy enough not to have to worry about every fractional increase in the wave of inflation. It is what riches do to us. Having things not only becomes important, but maintaining them becomes an all-consuming way of life. It becomes a "seek first" mentality and way of life. How many of our people have not told us that they would give more of their riches to the Lord, but they need the "nest egg" of security, the fall-back-upon cache, in case the roof springs a leak, the furnace goes out, the appliances break down. Have you ever noticed that when one trusts God's promises at face value, the twenty-year roof lasts thirty? The dryer groans after ten years, but manages to keep "whirring away" after fifteen? We can't believe how healthy the family has stayed? It's true! We must never say "give more; serve more; and your 'stuff' will last longer." But the point is, when we live and act as if our future and our security depend on how much we have "stashed away" and how cunning we have been, God abandons us to our own system of security. He says in effect that if you are going to abandon me and my promises to take care of you, you better be extremely frugal, cunning, and shrewd -- because you are on your own. You are all you have going for you. When we trust Christ to be our greatest treasure, then taking care of us becomes part of his keeping the honor of his name.
-- Schroeder
