Thursday, 22nd March 2023
Alex Buabeng-Korsah
TOPIC: GAIN IS NOT NECESSARILY GODLINESS
THEME SCRIPTURE: “They are covered with the clouds of conceit. They are loaded with controversy, and they love to argue their opinions and split hairs. The fruit of their ministry is contention, competition, and evil suspicions. They add misery to many lives by corrupting their minds and cheating them of the truth. They equate the worship of God with making great sums of money.” - (1 Timothy 6:4-5)
PREPARATORY QUESTIONS:
- Is the wealth of a man a proof of his godliness?
Motives are very important to the Christian walk. Everybody may praise you for what you do but God may not, because your motives are not right. In our theme scripture, which talks about false leadership, the nature of wrong motives is revealed in its pride, divisiveness and the pursuit of money. Hence, the fruits of false leadership is always to stir contention, competition and evil suspicions of others.
It is difficult to assess the motives of another man, but it is easy to see their his. Hence, Jesus indicated that by their fruits we will know them (Matt 7:20).
In our theme scripture Paul, by the Spirit shed light on the fruits of leaders whose motives are wrong. He indicates that they are more controversial and contentious, loving to argue their opinion rather than to share and learn. They are competitive, comparing themselves with others and what others have. They equate godliness to making great sums of money. But that is not so.
Over the years, there has been a new doctrine into the Christian faith which suggests that money is the measure of God’s blessings. This has caused many Christians to weigh their blessings by weighing their pockets. The blessings of God belongs to the godly (Psalm 1:1-3) but money is not necessarily the measure of godliness nor God’s blessings. The reason is this. There is a difference between means and end (check our Article on Means and Ends). Means are resources to help a man come to, or realize the end. Thus, God, depending on what He has purposed a man to achieve, will resource him. Meaning, some people will be more resourced than others, the same way the Master of the house gave diffferent number of talents to His servants to work with till He comes (Matt 25:14-15).
What we do with God’s resources is what produces in us the peace that subdues, the joy that overflows and the safety we seek. That is the blessing of the Lord.
Precious one, if a man has the whole world and yet he has no peace, joy or security, what has he? if we take our eyes off the most important things, we may win the battle but lose the war. Godliness with contentment is great gain; it has no substitute. Let us not equate the Christian walk to using God to make money. The early men who walked with God never needed money. They carried staff and yet nations were afraid of them. They spoke and it came to pass. They commanded and it stayed fast. They decreed and it was established. Their words were their currency, which never devalued.
God seeks to bring you and me into that realm where our capabilities are not dependent on human resources, money or the material, but the Spirit.
Precious One, money does not necessarily equate to godliness.Does it mean that God cannot resource a man so much? He can, and He did it on the cross for you (2 Cor 8:9). However, it comes with purpose; don’t forget that. From today going forward, when you have to choose between godliness and gain, God's wisdom will help you to choose right - godliness. God bless you.
FURTHER READING – 2 Kings 5:20-27
QUESTION TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:
- How content are you, and how much does godliness mean to you?
CONFESSION
Precious Father, thank you for opening my eyes to focus on godliness. I confess that my heart is set on God and a life of godliness in Him. I am using what God gives me purposely to His glory. Hallelujah!
1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Number 4; Proverbs 1; Luke 15
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