Articles
Hebrews 13 - Free From The Love Of Money
Hebrews 13 - Free From The Love Of Money
5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," 6 so that we confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6).
Money. Something to exchange for goods or services. Every economy has had such, although it has been called by many different names and actually consisted of different things. In our present day, we have to have SOME. The danger is developing a love for it. The problem often is simply greed – the inability to recognize ‘enough’. Often it is disguised as ‘just a little bit more… ‘, which is never then ‘enough’.
As you read your Bible, you will find some great examples of the right character. For example, the people of the Exodus from Egypt, when confronted with the needs of building the tabernacle, gave until they were told to not give anymore.
There was also the example of the Macedonian brethren mentioned in 1 Cor. 8. They were living in deep poverty, yet when they heard of the hard times of the brethren in Judea, they BEGGED to be ALLOWED to participate in the collection for the needy saints. Then they gave, not as anticipated, but above
There was also the poor widow in Mark 12:42-44. Although poor, she was willing to contribute ‘all she had to live on’ into the treasury that was used to help the poor!
All of these had one thing in common: a trust that God would provide for them. They recognized he had provided for them and they desired to use it to help others rather than hoard it for their own ease. As Paul said of the Macedonians: They FIRST gave themselves to the Lord.
Do you have enough? How much would you need to have ‘enough’? What are you doing with what you have? Make sure that your character is free from the love of money.
Hugh DeLong
