Today's Quick Word
Today’s Quick Word
Hosea 10:1-2 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart […]
Hosea 10:1-2 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
Perhaps the saddest thing about this message from the prophet Hosea to God’s people nearly 3,000 years ago is that it highlights, for every age, the massive spiritual problem that material prosperity can cause.
The apostle Paul had to warn young Timothy about the destructive power of wealth 800 years later: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10) – and we need to hear the same warning today.
Earlier, King Solomon had recognised the problem: “give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8b-9), but it seems he himself failed to heed the warning – and suffered the consequences (see 1 Kings 11:4)!
We also have the warning from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … … No man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:19-21, 24). As we enjoy, by God’s grace, relative comfort and prosperity today, and as all these ‘red lights’ flash at us from the Scriptures, let us never underestimate the subtle power the ‘love of money’ can have over our lives, and especially, and importantly, on our spiritual growth and health.
– Bruce Christian
