QUICK THOUGHT: The Idol of Greed

Speaker 1: Welcome to Balancing the Christian Life. Quick Thoughts. I'm Dr Kenny Embry. Join me as we figure out what it means to live as a Christian. Idolatry is one of the sins of the Old Testament I can't relate to very well. I don't understand how or why the Israelites were ever tempted by statues of wood or metals. It seems silly to invest any kind of trust into the very materials we surround ourselves with, and from an outsider's point of view it is silly. Isaiah even made the point that the people would take a log, make a statue out of one half of it, then burn the other half. Look, it's all the same thing. The very thing they burned was the same thing they worshipped. Yeah, that's stupid, but our idols end up looking pretty similar. We use our time and resources in the pursuit of stupid stuff, and we know it's stupid as we're doing it. And if you don't, then let me admit that I do it as we're doing it. And if you don't, then let me admit that I do. Do any of us for a moment believe money or greed are virtues? We can quote 1 Timothy 6, where we're told the love of money is the root of all evil, and most of us are quick to point out that it's the love of money and not money itself. Yet how much of our lives is spent pursuing money? How many times are we tempted to work for more to make more? Or, on the opposite end, how many of us are willing to clip coupons to save a buck? If we're honest with ourselves, we know money is one of our motivations and it's an easy thing that has become an idol to us and those around us. Let's face it we're often more interested in lifestyles of the rich and famous and not wasting time with the poor and obscure. God has told us outright we cannot serve him and greed. So how do we avoid making money our master? Let me suggest three quick recommendations from someone who has failed at this far more times than I can imagine. First, pray about your problem. The reason we pray isn't to inform God. God already knows what problem you have. He knows how much money affects you. He knows it better than you do. But money is one of those things we love to fool ourselves about. We think we can handle it, but if you admit to God this is a problem, you're really admitting to yourself. Second, be more generous. You might not have a lot of money, but I promise you have something that could help someone else. It could be a few bucks, a few minutes or letting somebody have your expertise for a little while. If you want to lose greed, gain generosity, give freely what others cannot afford. Finally, try spending fast. This looks identical to saving money, but it has a different goal. When we pursue money by either working for more or saving, we're keeping money and greed in the driver's seat. But if we devalue what money can do at all, it has less power overs. For many years, at my family's Thanksgiving, we would play a competitive basketball game with the family. I wasn't a good player and it was easy to get mad, frustrated or both, because I could not seem to get the ball where I wanted it. But one year something magical happened. I stopped caring whether my team won or lost. The taunting didn't mean anything because the game didn't mean anything. Frankly, I don't remember what years my team won or lost because I stopped caring. Now do the same thing for spending. Try spending fast because you don't care about what money can buy. I know that's really difficult because I'm asking you to take the emotions out of money and frankly, it's the emotions that are the problem, but intentionally take a break from spending for a day, two days or a week and see what, if anything , changes. See if you think about God differently. See if you see your relationships differently. See who you are, apart from the little green pieces of paper that seem to change everything. Okay, let's take this to God. Dear Lord, we have a difficult relationship with money. You know that better than we do . Help us to make money, our servant and not our master. We know money is necessary for us, but loving it isn't. So, lord, help us to keep you where you belong and money where it belongs. Help us to be more generous and give what we can while we can. You are our Father. Help us to be good children In the name of our King, amen. Now let's be good and do good.