.....men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.[b]
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain[c] we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:5-12
We are living in a day and age where it looks like Prosperity has become the central theme of the Church. Some "leaders" in the church have even dubbed it the Prosperity Gospel. (Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news(gospel) that I proclaimed to you,which you in turn received, in which you also STAND, through which you are also being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you-unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received : THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS in accordance with the scriptures, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES,...) Thank God for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and Him using Paul to write the above words to Timothy. Turning on the TV, going to a church, we seem to be in an era in the body where our "leaders" view godliness as a means of gain(vs. 5) They see God as the ATM in the sky, where if we send our prayers up, live right, and sow seeds into their ministry, God will bless my socks off materially. They tell me, if I want that house, speak it, and it will come to pass. They tell me God wants me in the best car,so claim that BMW 750li in the spirit, and it will come to pass,lol. You can purchase books on Living Your best life now, Repositioning Yourself, 7 steps to a new You, 8 Steps to being Wealthy in Christ, becoming a millioniare God's way, and on and on and on! These books are not evil, but do they expound on the epistles in the word of God, or are they pusing worldy values on the body of Christ? I'll leave that up to you.
Paul writes that godliness with contentment is great gain. The greek word translated as contentment is, autarkeia- ow-tar'-ki-ah: defined as, self-satisfaction, i.e. (abstractly) contentedness, or (concretely) a competence -- contentment, sufficiency. Godliness in itself should be enough. When you walk in godliness, it shifts your thinking from the world to the Word. You grow in your relationship with Christ, and your focus is on His commision, spreading the word, and making disciples.
There is NOTHING WRONG WITH MONEY.(Paul discusses what to do if you are rich in in verses 17-19) It is the desire to be rich(vs. 9) and the love of money(vs. 10) that will send the believer down the wrong path. The words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew are ringing in my head as I type. My Lord and Savior states, " Seek YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL."(Matthew 6:33)
I know that this post is a little long, but it is my prayer that you read, are informed, and study yourself, to edify the body.
God bless you, Jesus keep you, and let the Holy Spirit guide you.
Stan
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