Title: Money and Faith
Text: 1 Timothy 6:7-10
Date : 2007. 7. 22. Sunday Day Worship
I ask. Why do you believe in Jesus? If you have faith to become rich, you have been wrong from the beginning. If you believe well according to the Bible, you can get financial wealth as a bonus. Economic wealth is an incidental blessing. If this is the purpose of believing in Jesus, it is the faith of reliefism. Reliefism is not a biblical faith. Biblical faith is this. It is to have a healthy faith regardless of circumstances and events. We must have a healthy faith even when we are struggling financially.
What can I do to have a healthy faith despite financial difficulties?
First, be aware of and beware of the influence of money (verse 9).
In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira appear. They made a promise to sell their real estate on a temporary basis and give it to the poor. But my mind has changed. So I hid half and gave only half. The apostle Peter yelled at them. “Ananias, why is Satan filling your heart with deceiving the Holy Spirit and hiding the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3) “You did not lie to men, but to God” (Acts 5:4). They could not overcome their greed for money, so they lied to God. Unfortunately, they did not receive any blessings even after giving them money. Instead of being blessed, I was angry. Money stimulates human greed. embezzlement, bribery, robbery, etc. Getting money in an unrighteous way is a snare. You will lose something greater than your wealth. If you want to be honest with people and stand before God, you must not covet unjust money. Please beware of the lure of money.
Second, we must not love money (verse 10).
Money is neither evil nor good. But the love of money is evil. The Bible says it is the root of all evil. The example of the prophet Balaam proves it. He was a prophet of God. The Moabites planned a special way to defeat Israel. The way God's servant cursed Israel before God. Some crazy person will do this. But the prophet Balaam did this. The large amount of money offered by the Moabites made him do this. If you love money, you are not afraid to do bad things. No matter how noble a person is, when he falls in love with money, he turns into a monster.
Instead of money, we should love God and our neighbor. When Jesus said to love God and neighbor, he emphasized that this is the great teaching of the Old Testament (Matthew 22:37-40). If you love God, please don't blame God for not having money. If you love your family, please don't argue with each other because you don't have money. It is not easy to solve the problems of not having money, but it is like falling into an endless bog if your faith is stained by blaming God for money, and your heart is wounded by family quarrels. If you absolutely love God, you should be able to give thanks even when you have no money. If you really love your family, you should be able to unite without contention even when you don't have money.
Third, the standard of satisfaction must be lowered (verses 7-8).
We are empty handed life. You brought nothing and you can't take anything with you. Therefore, you should be content with what you have and be grateful for it. If you are not starving and not naked, you should know enough and be thankful. Whatever it is, say thank you. The lower the level of satisfaction, the better.
In Korea, it is always said that it is difficult because of the heterogeneity. Of course, there are many difficulties. However, it is also true that many countries around the world envy Korea. In the age of well-being, diet is the biggest concern. The reason people suffer from overweight and obesity is to stay healthy. Such worries are a dreamlike reality in a poor country. It's hard, but I'm living well. Now we are over-influenced. I have been eating two meals a day for a long time. By the way, after marriage, I gained 15 kilograms. This means that our diet is just as luxurious. Shouldn't we be thankful for a diet that will make us gain weight even if we only eat two meals? Food waste is the reason why cat herds thrive in Korea. Eating and throwing away the rest is no joke. Who would say this country is difficult? It is said that half of Indians are born on the street and die on the street. More than half of the world's people struggle with eating. It is not natural to eat and live satisfactorily. Because God has blessed you. That's something to be really grateful for. Instead of believing in Jesus and hoping for a great success, you should look back on today's blessings and give thanks.
The author of “Freezing Point”, Ms. Ayako Miura, is the best Japanese writer we know. But her life was not the best. It was the worst. At the age of 23, he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and suffered for 13 years. He suffered from rectal cancer, Parkinson's disease, and tuberculosis spondylitis. But in the midst of suffering, she did not become discouraged, but lived in gratitude. A few words before she passed away, she said: “The only thing I have lost from disease is my health. Instead, they received faith and eternal life. I know that at the end of my life what is left is not the accumulation of achievements, but the things we share.” In the Talmud it says: “A truly wise person is one who learns from everyone, a truly strong person is one who rules over himself, and a truly rich person is one who gives thanks for what he has.” Don't complain about not having money. Thank you for feeding and dressing us so far. If God makes me more prosperous than I am now, please promise to serve God's kingdom and neighbor. We must prove our faith in front of money.