"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36
It is not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of it. Money is not evil in itself. We need it. Money is God’s gift to us, to be administered by us as good stewards.
In modern times, with the emphasis on material goods, we see something emerging that raises questions about our sense of values. Games of chance are on the increase. They are the focus of tremendous interest, aided and abetted by wide-spread publicity. The sad part is that the people who can least afford it buy the most tickets, spending money on a wish and a dream – money they need for food, clothing, and fuel. They read stories of ordinary people hitting the jackpot, and they begin to reason: “If they can do it, so can we.” Not mentioned in these news stories are the millions who did not win anything.
It’s no fun being poor. So there come visions of what life could be like if you were suddenly a millionaire. You ditch your job, go traveling, build a big house, drive a limousine-length car. But that is only a vision. The cold facts are that the chance of getting rich by chance are so remote that you can forget about it.
Underneath the lottery fever is a philosophy that says you can get a great deal for very little – you can get wealth without working for it. This is a delusion. Satisfaction comes from acquiring what you need in the old-fashioned way: earning it!
The Bible has a good suggestion for those who hang around games of chance with money burning holes in their pockets: “Do something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).
We cannot repay Jesus Christ for having redeemed us – redeemed us not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood. But we can show our thankfulness by being faithful stewards of all He has entrusted to us.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for redeeming me not with money but with Your precious blood. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Song 1-3 Acts 6
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