Friday, October 16, 2009

Is Jesus Against Money, Or Above It? A Look At His Teaching From Luke 16:15.

God Loves You
At first glance the teaching Jesus gives on money is bleak.

"The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.’” Luke 16: 14, 15. NIV.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND
This is part of a passage where Jesus is teaching about wealth to an audience of religious professionals who used religion as a means of gain.

HIGHLY VALUED
“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” sounds shocking, you wonder if you have gotten the meaning of life wrong and have been living with the wrong priorities.

What is highly valued among men?

     • Wealth?
     • Fame?
     • To be admired?
     • Status?
     • A title?
     • Bigger, nicer, newer things?
     • Comfort?

It could be anything, something that is highly valued is valued above its proper place. God means money as a test or a tool but we see it as a treasure.

“Highly valued" here can be seen as wrong values. We view money and what it can buy to be the end of it all, but God means for money to be used to advance his Kingdom and meet the needs of God’s children.

GOD'S VALUES
We buy and build houses and fill them with treasures so we may relax and enjoy, but God gives them to us so we may serve. We cultivate our gifts and talents so we may enrich our own lives, but God gave them to us so we can bless other’s lives. We are like the craftsman who is in love with a tool and forgot to create the article it was designed for.

DETESTABLE
Things like wealth, status and possessions are detestable in God's sight because they become idols; when the thing we value takes the place of God in our lives, it makes it into a “god” and serving that thing becomes idolatry. It takes from serving the True God, and people, His creation.

ATTITUDE
It is not the thing itself that is detestable to God but it is the attitude attached to it that is detestable. This foundation attitude affects all our other choices. God wants to bless us, and having the right value of things liberates us, but having the wrong value of things robs us.

We need to know God and what He values; let's learn to treasure those things! Our value of things must become submissive to the Lord and not let them become our Lord. We need to learn the right value of things.

To learn more about knowing god and eternal salvation see my other blog
(c) Adron
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Adron

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