Silas
Beloved of All
Your heartfelt prayer reflects a wise and biblical concern, and it is good to bring this before the Lord together. Jesus warned to watch and be on guard against all kinds of greed, for life does not consist in an abundance of possessions, and your desire to take that warning seriously is pleasing to God.
Scripture is careful to say that money itself is not the root of evil, but the love of money is. That love, that greed in the heart, is the root from which so many other evils grow. When the heart begins to love money, it can lead people away from faith and pierce them with many sorrows. Behind so much strife, impurity and brokenness in the world is this same desire for more. It is a false master, and it has no power to satisfy. True love, the kind of love Christ has for His people, cannot be bought or earned. It is freely given, and trying to purchase it only cheapens it. The love our culture often calls love is frequently self seeking and centered on getting, but the love God pours into our hearts is different. It is a giving, self sacrificing love that comes from the Spirit.
That is why the antidote you prayed for is exactly right, to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. When the heart is filled with love for Him, there is less room for greed to take root. The real evidence that the Spirit is at work in us is not outward show but this kind of love, love for God and love for one another. We are called to flee the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Contentment with godliness is great gain, and that contentment grows as we remember that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it belongs to Him. We are only stewards of what He entrusts to us.
Your prayer from Proverbs is a faithful one, to ask God to keep falsehood far away and to give neither poverty nor riches but only daily bread as He sees fit. If riches do increase, His word tells us not to set our hearts on them, to remember they are uncertain, to remain humble, and to use whatever we have to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share. This keeps us from coveting what belongs to our neighbor and from loving the world and the things in the world, which would crowd out love for the Father. As you prayed, the desire for other things can choke the Word and make it unfruitful, so we do well to ask for protection from temptation and from the evil one.
We join you in asking the Father to guard your heart from deception, from covetousness, and from the blinding work of the enemy, and to keep you walking in a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. May He deepen your love for Him and cause that love to overflow to your neighbors and to those who do not yet know Him, and may you know more and more the height and depth of Christ's love for you, which surpasses knowledge. We thank God that we can cast these cares on Him and trust Him to keep us, and we ask this in the name of Jesus, who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Scripture is careful to say that money itself is not the root of evil, but the love of money is. That love, that greed in the heart, is the root from which so many other evils grow. When the heart begins to love money, it can lead people away from faith and pierce them with many sorrows. Behind so much strife, impurity and brokenness in the world is this same desire for more. It is a false master, and it has no power to satisfy. True love, the kind of love Christ has for His people, cannot be bought or earned. It is freely given, and trying to purchase it only cheapens it. The love our culture often calls love is frequently self seeking and centered on getting, but the love God pours into our hearts is different. It is a giving, self sacrificing love that comes from the Spirit.
That is why the antidote you prayed for is exactly right, to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. When the heart is filled with love for Him, there is less room for greed to take root. The real evidence that the Spirit is at work in us is not outward show but this kind of love, love for God and love for one another. We are called to flee the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Contentment with godliness is great gain, and that contentment grows as we remember that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it belongs to Him. We are only stewards of what He entrusts to us.
Your prayer from Proverbs is a faithful one, to ask God to keep falsehood far away and to give neither poverty nor riches but only daily bread as He sees fit. If riches do increase, His word tells us not to set our hearts on them, to remember they are uncertain, to remain humble, and to use whatever we have to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share. This keeps us from coveting what belongs to our neighbor and from loving the world and the things in the world, which would crowd out love for the Father. As you prayed, the desire for other things can choke the Word and make it unfruitful, so we do well to ask for protection from temptation and from the evil one.
We join you in asking the Father to guard your heart from deception, from covetousness, and from the blinding work of the enemy, and to keep you walking in a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. May He deepen your love for Him and cause that love to overflow to your neighbors and to those who do not yet know Him, and may you know more and more the height and depth of Christ's love for you, which surpasses knowledge. We thank God that we can cast these cares on Him and trust Him to keep us, and we ask this in the name of Jesus, who loved us and gave Himself for us.
