Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Is it possible that we could acquire money in a perfectly legitimate way and still be ashamed about it when we meet the Lord at last?
Is it a sin to have money? No, not if God gives it to you. But it is a sin to possess it selfishly, that is, thinking that you deserve it because of your hard work, or luck, or ingenuity. Then is when James' words will come true: your money "will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire" (5:3).
This is not saying that we must sell or give away everything we have so that we can be like Jesus who said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20).It is not necessary for us to literally be like Jesus who had nothing but His clothes when He died, and was even divested of them as He hung naked on His cross. The Lord wants you to have what you need for health and comfort, and He has promised to "provide."
But what's important for us to grasp is the seldom-seen truth that all we deserve is the small amount Jesus had. And we would have only that had He not become our Savior and died for us. It is common sense for us to recognize and confess that everything we "possess" beyond a lonely grave is the direct purchase of His grace.
Then gratitude can find expression in our hearts and on our lips, for appropriate gratitude is not possible for us sinful humans until we can grasp what it cost Christ to save us.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 2, 2002.
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