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1 TIMOTHY 6:9 NKJ 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.
This verse seems to warn against any desire to be rich. Actually, as some other translations say, it is more of a longing to be rich, or a supreme goal to be rich that is being addressed.
This is talking about more than a simple desire -- for every normal human should desire to improve and increase.
It is talking about a driving desire that causes you to be susceptible to temptations to do wrong, because you are willing to do anything to achieve your goal of being rich. It is talking about a person who is obsessed with being rich. Someone who puts every other interest behind the primary goal of being rich, no matter what it requires.
Do you desire to be rich? Let me ask it this way: "Would you rather be rich or poor?" "Would you rather have more than you need so you can share with others, or would you rather have less than you need so others must help you?"
Unless their thinking has been warped by religious teaching, every sane person would admit they desire to be rich, as opposed to the alternative of being poor.
Yet at first glance, this verse in 1 Timothy 6:9 seems to indicate that this normal and healthy human desire is somehow evil and should be avoided.
The New Testament was written in Greek, and achieving a perfect translation from one language to another is never easy. It should be obvious that the word "desire" in 1 Timothy 6:9 is referring to something much stronger than a simple preference for prosperity.
So it is not being rich, or a preference for being rich, that causes all the problems spoken of in 1 Timothy 6:9, but having an uncontrolled, driving desire to be rich at any cost that causes those problems.
Only a few verses later, we read verse 17 which says nothing to condemn those who are rich.
1 TIMOTHY 6:17 NKJ 17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
God has provided richly for us. His intention is that we enjoy what He has created and provided for us.
God put within us the desire to grow and improve, to increase and overcome obstacles, and also to enjoy beauty and order. Mankind was created and placed in a garden of pleasure, the Garden of Eden, a paradise. It is not wrong for us to strive to return to that state. God made us that way.
It only becomes wrong when we are willing to mistreat and take advantage of others in our quest to prosper.
It is not wrong for you to have nice things. But it is wrong to have no concern for others, and be willing to mistreat them in order to obtain what you desire for yourself.
SAY THIS: It is not wrong to desire increase. But it is wrong to make that my primary goal in life, without regard to the needs and desires of others.
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You Must Ask for Eternal Life... Matthew 21:22 - And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. John 16:24 - Here to have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you shall receive, that your joy…
ContinueCreated by Bishop Dr. Joshua Smith Oct 18, 2011 at 3:47am. Last updated by Bishop Dr. Joshua Smith Mar 21, 2014.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Excluded. Rejected. Discarded. Abandoned. Forgotten. Pushed aside. Never picked. Each of these describes what it feels like to be a nobody. The evil one gives our sinful flesh the tools and the opportunities to speak these words of self-condemnation to ourselves. God, however, has extended his mercy and grace to us. "But now…" - two of the greatest words of hope when God is attached. "But now" we can trust that God has loved us in Christ, brought us into his family, and given us a purpose. We are now part of the people of God! We have been chosen to be part of the victorious team of teams. We have received mercy! Grace has washed over us, and God's love has adopted us into his family. Peter is reminding maligned and persecuted believers that they can choose to see themselves as "nobodies," or they can choose to see themselves by their new, God-shaped identity. Peter's words speak to our hearts, too. You, dear friend in Jesus, are God's child. You are part of his eternal and conquering people - like Moses, Esther, Paul, and Mary Magdalene. Mercy has reversed the power of sin and failure in your life and has graciously given you a new identity, empowered by the Holy Spirit's presence. Live today as you now are in Jesus: one of God's special people who "declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).
O Father of mercy and God of all grace, thank you for making me part of your people, with a divine purpose for my life. In Jesus' name, I thank you. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
Heaven is something we see now with our hearts through our faith. When we are discouraged, doubtful, and depressed, we need to have the eyes of our hearts "enlightened" so we can live our lives with that hope. The dawn needs to rise in our darkness; as we see the dawn of hope and the riches of our inheritance on the horizon, we can be strong, have faith, endure, persevere, and even thrive in our faith. When things look bad, however, sometimes the only way to remember "the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" is to sing them, pray them, and read God's promises of them in Scripture. These three spiritual practices awaken our faith to see beyond our circumstances! Paul reminds us that, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can remind each other of these things when we pray for one another to experience them.
O God, you are my lasting hope. I trust in you and your promises. I admit, however, that at times I struggle with my confidence in my hope that you will act in response to my prayers and do what I've trusted you with my life to do. So, please fill me with your Spirit, who can comfort my doubts, rekindle my passion to serve you with boldness, and to share my hope with others. Thank you for Paul's reminder, and I choose to pray about these hopes, sing about these hopes, and read about these hopes in the Scriptures. Through my LORD Jesus, I pray. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
The evil one, the devil, is not an imaginary being or a pretend force we dismiss as a childish fear. He and his power are real, and he intends to do us eternal harm! (Look at the poor man inhabited by a legion of demons in Mark 5:1-20 and see what the evil one would like to do with all of us.) Instead of spending our time worrying about him, however, let's resist him when we are tempted and focus on Jesus. Jesus defeated the evil one and his horde of demonic spirits on the cross (Colossians 2:15). Jesus won the big showdown at Calvary, triumphing over Satan. He took the evil one's greatest tool, death, and our fear of death, and disarmed it (Hebrews 2:14-15). Now we can resist, and Satan will flee because of Jesus in us and for us (James 4:7).
Thank you, Almighty God, for sending Jesus to break the evil one's stranglehold over us and our world. Through the Savior's death, you have assured us that our death won't be the end of our relationship, but the beginning of our life with you forever. Today, I ask that you help me especially resist the evil one's power and influence over my life. Through the power in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
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