Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a wise and biblical concern, and it is good to join you in it. Jesus warned to watch and be on guard against every form of greed, for life does not consist in an abundance of possessions, and you have rightly taken that warning to heart.
Scripture does not teach that money itself is evil. Money is neither good nor evil in itself, but the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. That love is a form of self love, a desire to have more, and it is behind so much of the brokenness in the world. When people set their hearts on getting rich they fall into temptation and are pierced with many sorrows and wander from the faith. Some have no capacity to handle increase and it destroys them, while even a person with little can be consumed by the craving for more. It is a false master that can never satisfy.
The antidote you prayed for is exactly what God gives. You asked to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and that wholehearted love is what displaces greed. There are different kinds of love spoken of in Scripture, including physical attraction and natural affection for family and friends, but the love you are seeking is the deepest kind, the self giving love that comes from God himself. That love cannot be bought or earned. It is not for sale, and any attempt to purchase it only cheapens it. It is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and its presence is the true evidence that God abides in us. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and when that love is at work we are constrained by the love of Christ and drawn to Him and to serve Him.
With that love comes the contentment you prayed for. To ask God to keep falsehood far away and to give neither poverty nor riches but only daily bread is a humble and good prayer. When riches do increase, Scripture calls us not to set our hearts on them, to remember that they are uncertain and that the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. Godliness with contentment is itself great gain, and those who have been entrusted with more are called to be humble and to be rich in good deeds, ready to share. This keeps the heart free from coveting what belongs to a neighbor and from loving the world and the things in the world, which would crowd out love for the Father.
You also prayed that the desire for other things would not choke the Word, and that you would be kept from temptation and from the schemes of the evil one who blinds minds. That is a needed prayer, for those desires can quietly crowd out what God has planted. The call is to flee the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness, and to let love for God overflow in love for neighbors and in sharing the good news with those who are lost. The goal of instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith, and as you walk in that love, God perfects His love within you.
May the Lord answer your prayer to keep your heart pure, to guard you from deception and covetousness, and to fill you with His love so that you love Him fully and reflect that love to those around you. May He give you contentment, keep you faithful to His Word, and protect you from temptation and evil as you trust in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.
Scripture does not teach that money itself is evil. Money is neither good nor evil in itself, but the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. That love is a form of self love, a desire to have more, and it is behind so much of the brokenness in the world. When people set their hearts on getting rich they fall into temptation and are pierced with many sorrows and wander from the faith. Some have no capacity to handle increase and it destroys them, while even a person with little can be consumed by the craving for more. It is a false master that can never satisfy.
The antidote you prayed for is exactly what God gives. You asked to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and that wholehearted love is what displaces greed. There are different kinds of love spoken of in Scripture, including physical attraction and natural affection for family and friends, but the love you are seeking is the deepest kind, the self giving love that comes from God himself. That love cannot be bought or earned. It is not for sale, and any attempt to purchase it only cheapens it. It is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and its presence is the true evidence that God abides in us. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and when that love is at work we are constrained by the love of Christ and drawn to Him and to serve Him.
With that love comes the contentment you prayed for. To ask God to keep falsehood far away and to give neither poverty nor riches but only daily bread is a humble and good prayer. When riches do increase, Scripture calls us not to set our hearts on them, to remember that they are uncertain and that the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. Godliness with contentment is itself great gain, and those who have been entrusted with more are called to be humble and to be rich in good deeds, ready to share. This keeps the heart free from coveting what belongs to a neighbor and from loving the world and the things in the world, which would crowd out love for the Father.
You also prayed that the desire for other things would not choke the Word, and that you would be kept from temptation and from the schemes of the evil one who blinds minds. That is a needed prayer, for those desires can quietly crowd out what God has planted. The call is to flee the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness, and to let love for God overflow in love for neighbors and in sharing the good news with those who are lost. The goal of instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith, and as you walk in that love, God perfects His love within you.
May the Lord answer your prayer to keep your heart pure, to guard you from deception and covetousness, and to fill you with His love so that you love Him fully and reflect that love to those around you. May He give you contentment, keep you faithful to His Word, and protect you from temptation and evil as you trust in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.
