(This is a series of posts exploring my goals and direction for life…)
I am a religious person and when I think about money, quotes like “ For the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10) and that makes me think I shouldn’t seek after it.
Then, in Acts 20:35 Jesus teaches it is “more blessed to give than receive”. However, what if we take these things in context?
In Acts, the full verse reads:
“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
So, Jesus is saying it is important to work so we can support the weak and without “gold and silver” (vs. 33) we can’t support others. I believe an important word in vs. 33 was “covet”.
Back to Timmothy, the full verse says:
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Finally, if we add in Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
When he says “all these things” he is speaking of food and clothing, but that could easily be extended to other worldly needs. So God, cares about us and wants us to be successful so we can lift and support those who are in need. That being said, he doesn’t want us to become greedy or go after money.
I had a leader teach me once that we should:
“Seek not for money, titles, or power.”
He was very successful in his life but what he was saying was that if we first seek the Kingdom of God, we will be blessed and often receive these things.
Now let’s bring in a quote from a more business leader who said “Don’t rob from yourself.”
This brings up the question of “how much is my work worth?” Maybe I will explore that next time.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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