Title: The Path of Those Who Covet It
Contents
♡♥♡ The way of the greedy / Proverbs 1:10-19
*** Introduction
A few years ago, there was a report of a kidnapping case where a child was kidnapped, put in a sack, dropped a stone into a reservoir, and then caught while demanding money. Among the kidnappers were a young couple. They abducted a child from a wealthy family for money, and immediately killed the child, sacked him and sank into a reservoir.
It's an old story. There was a young man who was caught while running away after stealing a handful of precious metals such as rings and necklaces in a market battle. While browsing the market, the young man became greedy as he passed a nanjeon selling precious metals such as watches and rings necklaces. For a long time, I stood in front of the jewelry store and stared intently. Then, for some reason, he grabbed a handful and hurriedly ran away.
How far would you go if you ran away from a crowded market bin The young man could not even escape for a long time and was caught by the people. When asked by the police, ‘How did you think of stealing from among so many people?’, the young man replied, ‘At that time, I could only see jewels.’
These events bring to the realization that 'if you have greed, your foolishness will skyrocket.' In this way, human greed has no limit.
That is why the Apostle Paul said, “Covetousness is idolatry” in a letter to the “Colossian Church” and told the young disciple Timothy, “Flee the lusts of youth. The commentator, Hendrickson, divided the human lusts representing greed into three categories: pleasure, power, and possessiveness. Pleasure refers to the unrestrained desire to satisfy carnal desires, and power is the desire to show and rule over others. It was also said that possessiveness is the desire to possess material things excessively.
When this kind of greed enters a person's heart, nothing else can enter his heart. Old-fashioned adults described such a person as "something was put on the eyelids." So, the result of chasing greed is destruction. 1 Timothy 6:10. “The love of money is the root of all evil, and those who long for it have been deceived, and have turned away from the faith, and have pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
The text of the text teaches this. Greed is the most dreadful enemy that makes mankind sick, as it is the first to be dealt with in the beginning of the main body of the proverb. How can we protect ourselves from such greed?
1. You must guard your heart.
The text reads, “My son… ” he opens his mouth and speaks with tender and warm love, as he would teach his beloved son. A wise man teaches that he must guard his heart so that he does not fall into the trap of the evil one who leads to greed.
To protect one's own mind means to have a clear subjectivity. Subjectivity is the main idea of each individual. It is like a pillar that supports the human heart. If your subjectivity is not clear, you will be swayed and deceived by all kinds of thoughts. That is why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else. For this is the source of life.” Above all else, he tells us to guard our hearts.
These days, commercial Internet mail is giving me a headache. The subject of the e-mail is all plausible. In particular, ‘It is easy to make money’, ‘If you miss it, you will regret it’, ‘It is a lot of fun’, and so on. All kinds of speculative games, money games, pleasures, etc. Like a snake flapping its tongue, it gestures for seduction. If you step into such a place once, your soul and body will perish together. If you do not have a clear stand on your own subjectivity, you will fall out. It is not the will of God to pursue only easy money or pleasures of the flesh without sweating toil.
God expelled Adam and Eve, polluted with greed, from the Garden of Eden, and allowed them to live through the principle of life through sweat and sweat and labor in childbirth. However, human greed continued to produce sin. Cain killed his younger brother Abel, and Cain's descendants were stained with greed and continued to commit crimes to satisfy their own desires. God took responsibility for the overflowing sins of mankind and buried mankind in a flood. “God said to Noah, The end has come before me, because the earth is full of violence of all flesh and blood, and I will destroy them along with the earth.”
This tragic result is due to the failure of human beings to keep the first endowed mind. So, God is admonishing people while looking at the future of mankind. Genesis 4:6-7. “The LORD said to Cain, “What is it that you are angry, and how is your complexion changed? If you do good, how can you not be respected? If you do not do good, sin falls at the door. The desire of sin is in you, but you must rule over it.”
Nevertheless, the tragedy of mankind is still not over. No, rather, the mouth of greed is widening, and the degree of sin is increasing with a more subtle method. So, God warns of the life of the saints in the last days through all the prophets and apostles and the direct teachings of Jesus. Let's look at 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
“You know this. In the last days the tormented times will come, when people will love themselves, love money, be proud, arrogant, blaspheme, disobey their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, ungrateful, accusing, unrestrained, ferocious, not fond of what is good, selling in treachery, hasty, slept, loving pleasures more than loving God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of godliness; Turn away from them.”
In a generation like this, our children are neglected, and people's souls are getting sick. Above all, we must teach the wisdom to fear God. So, we must live with the subjectivity within our established beliefs.
2. Gain insight into before and after work.
When a person becomes concerned with his own interests or desires, he jumps in at any cost. Even though he shows off his cool judgment when he is not calm about other people's affairs, he often loses his reason when he becomes directly involved in his work.
The same is true of the story of the kidnapper or the young man I mentioned earlier. They would not be able to jump into a crime if they had the judgment that their plans would have some consequences. So we need to get the insight to look before and after things. This wisdom is also taught in the text. Let's look at verses 18 and 19.
“Those who foolishly set their nets and dig pits to harm others are no different from fools who dig their own graves. This is the case with all those who eat their backs and build luxurious houses, and in the end they will lose their lives because of their unfair possessions.”
Our faith must be a faith that can be accepted by God even if we believe for just one moment. It goes without saying that what we preach and teach should be the same. Faith toward God does not promote carnal gain. It is for our spirit to become like God, for the spiritual life and the abundance of spiritual life. When the spirit is strong and prosperous, the life of the body will also become strong. The result of those who covet it is the destruction of the spirit and the body. I pray that all of us can keep our hearts toward God and gain insight so that we can enjoy an abundant life both physically and spiritually.