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No Man Can Serve Two Masters
| Date post: | 31-Mar-2015 |
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A large manufacturing firm decided to open a new assembly plant in an underdeveloped Latin American country because labor was cheap and plentiful. The plant successfully opened and the operation was progressing smoothly - until the first paycheck. The next day, none of the villagers reported for work. Management waited...one, two, three days. Still no villagers came to work.
The plant manager went to see the village chief to find out the problem. “Why should we continue to work?” the chief responded, “We have already earned all the money we need to live on.” The plant stood idle for almost a month. Then someone came up with the idea of distributing the Sear and Roebuck mail order catalogs to all the villagers. Since that time there has not been an unemployment problem. Now they know the word: MasterCard.
Word Association Test
December 25th
January 1st
July 4th
October 31st
APRIL 15TH
There won’t be any Tax Day celebrations.I doubt that one solitary American has hung any Tax Day decorations in their home. You won’t see any Tax Day parades, just people trying to make you feel better about money lost.
The BIBLE is filled with two thousand references teaching us how to use our money and possessions.
In the gospels, JESUS spoke often about money. ONE SIXTH of the content of the Gospels, including ONE out of every THREE PARABLES.......deals with the subject of MONEY.
Jesus said more about money than salvation, heaven, and hell combined.
Why did Jesus spend so much time talking about money?
Matthew 6:21 (NLT)
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
How we handle money reveals much about the depth of our commitment to Christ. That's why Jesus often talked about money. Jesus wasn't a fundraiser. He dealt with money matters because money matters. For some of us, though, it matters too much.
Jesus does NOT want to get our money. He justwants to keep our moneyfrom getting us.
Luke 16:13 (NLT)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Jesus could have put many words in the place of money. Why do you think he chose the word money?
Imagine where this dollar bill might have been? To what uses has it been employed? Has it ever been exchanged for drugs on a street corner? Has it purchased candy for a child waiting in a grocery line with their parent? Has it helped to put bread on a table for someone who needed food?
Did it ever get used to pay part of a someone’s utility bill who lacked sufficient funds? Did someone ever take it to a bank to put it in savings? Has it ever been placed in the middle of a poker game and played over? Has it ever been placed in an offering and prayed over?
Of course, there is no way to know, right? Who knows where the money in our wallet or our purse has been. Only God. But today, let’s think about money - its past uses, its current usefulness, and its potential uses in the future, and how we, as followers of Jesus, should use money.
John Wesley once said, “The world is corrupt, but is gold or silver to blame? ‘The love of money,’ we know, ‘is the root of all evil;’ but not the thing itself. The fault does not lie in the money, but in those who use it. In the hands of God's children, it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked: It gives to the traveler and the stranger a place to lay their head.
By it we may supply the needs of a husband to the widow, of a father to the fatherless. We may be a defense for the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain; it may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame; a lifter up from the gates of death! ... It is therefore of the highest concern that all who fear God know how to use this valuable gift.”
PROVERBS 16:16 (VOICE)How much better it is to receive wisdom than the riches of gold and to gain understanding over some silver prize!
PROVERBS 22:1-2 (NLT) Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. 2 The rich and poor have this in common: The LORD made them both.
PROVERBS 23:4-5 (NLT) Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. 5 In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
PROVERBS 27:23-24 (MSG) Know your sheep by name;carefully attend to your flocks; (Don’t take them for granted; possessions don’t last forever, you know.)
PROVERBS is teaching you and me to “WISE UP” and realize there are a lot of things that are of far greater value than money.
-Godly wisdom is more valuable than money.
-A good reputation and honorable name is more valuable than money.
-One’s relationship with God is more valuable thanmoney.
-One’s relationship with family and friends is morevaluable than money.
I heard about a rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him. He told his wife to get all his money together, put it in a sack, and then hang the sack from the rafters in the attic. He said, "When my spirit is caught up to heaven, I’ll grab the sack on my way." Well he eventually died, and the woman raced to the attic, only to find the money still there. She said, "I knew I should’ve put the sack in the basement."
With money, you can buy a house but not a home
A bed but not sleep.
Medicine but not health
A passport to everywhere but heaven
Gain All You CanThrough good old fashioned hard work
ACQUIRE MONEY HONESTLY
Proverbs 21:25The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul urges believers to become active participants in God’s kingdom and to work diligently and regularly: Brothers and sisters, we urge you to love even more 11 and make it your goal to lead a peaceful life, mind your own business, and keep your hands busy in your work, as we have instructed you. 12 That way you will live peacefully with those on the outside, and all your needs will be met without depending on others.
Idle hands are the devil's playground.
What does this meanto you?
“keep your hands busy in your work”
From a Christian perspective, work is a good thing--a gift.
We sometimes spend so much time complaining about work that we forget that it is a gift. If you don't believe that, just ask someone who is unemployed or underemployed at the moment.
But not just any work will do for the Christian.
According to Edward Conn, writer for the Complet Harper’s Index, “Ninety-Seven percent of paper money in circulation today contains traces of cocaine.“
That means there is a real good chance the money you and I have in our billfold or purse right now has passed through the hands of drug dealers, drug users, pimps, prostitutes, thieves and a sordid array of other dishonest characters who are acquiring money in an illegal , immoral or unethical manner.
There is certain kind of work that Christians should not do: First, they should not gain money at the expense of life or at the expense of our health or someone else's - that means drug dealing is out; prostitution is out; but so too, perhaps, is working for a company that exploits or harms people in other parts of the world. It has been suggested that any employment that deprives a person of the proper seasons for sleeping and eating should also be out.
Proverbs 22:16 (NIV)
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Carpet Industry across Pakistan, India and Bangladesh is notorious for employing child labor.
An estimated 200 children, some 11 years old or even younger, are sewing clothing for Puma at the Harvest Rich factory in Bangladesh.
Thousands of children have been known to harvest cocoa beans for Hershey’s in West Africa today.
Fair Labor Association says it found “multiple serious violations” of the company’s own supplier code. The code includes clauses on child labor, safety and working hours.
Philip Morris has actually admitted that 72 children work on the tobacco farms from which Philip Morris buys its plants. The youngest of these was just 10 years old.
Victoria’s Secret purchased all of Burkina Faso’s organic cotton. Much of it picked by child labor.
WalMart’s in house clothing brand Simply Basic and other products have been
manufactured using child labor in
Bangladesh.
One of Microsoft’s suppliers in China has been accused of using child labor. The kids are allegedly making mice, keyboards and Xbox 360 controllers for $0.65 an hour. Although Microsoft itself has not officially sanctioned this sweatshop and its 16-hour workdays, the company is still under fire from the National Labor Committee which said that its supplier, KYE, often makes small children briefly sleep at their work stations in dismal conditions.
Samsung Electronics has been accused by a labor rights group of mistreating workers in China and illegally using child labor. Some employees were working more than 100 hours per month of overtime and that children were knowingly employed.
Apple has discovered multiple cases of child labor in its supply chain.
Coca-Cola and other large businesses are indirectly benefiting from the use of child labor in sugarcane fields in El Salvador.
Monsanto also employs child labor. In India, an estimated 12,375 children work in cottonseed production
Other USA companies that purchase products made from sweatshops include: (Sweatshops often have poor working conditions, unfair wages, unreasonable hours, child labor, and a lack of benefits for workers).
$0.40/day
Secondly, we should not gain money that requires or promotes lying, cheating, or any activity that might harm one's good conscience.
Proverbs 20:17 (NIV)
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
Proverbs 28:6 (NLT)
Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.
Proverbs 28:8 (NLT)
Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.
Proverbs 28:24 (NLT)
Anyone who steals from his father and mother and says, “What’s wrong with that?” is no better than a murderer.
By the age of 21, Barry Minkow had become famous because of his huge success in the carpet cleaning company called ZZZZ Best, which he started in his parents’ garage at the age of 16. The business became a front for a large Ponzi scheme and in time it was discovered that his fortune was obtained by stealing, check kiting, insurance fraud, fraudulent credit card charges, and even selling his grandmother’s jewelry. He was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
While in prison, Minkow made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, studied the Bible extensively, and earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was released after only six years, and he soon became a minister, ultimately becoming Pastor of San Diego Bible Church. In order to “give back,” he started an institute to help the FBI and bankers and business executives to prevent and fight fraud. He became a media darling as a “criminal turned Christian fraud-buster!” A movie was made about his life.
However, in 2011, Minkow was convicted of fraud against another company. In January 2014, while in prison, he was convicted of cheating his church out of $3 million, pleading guilty to the charges. His sentencing is scheduled for early April of this year.
Proverbs 21:6 (NIV)
6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare
Save All You CanNot Spend All You Can
Proverbs 21:20 The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.
The unfortunate statistical truth is, the more we make the more we waste; the more we make the less we worry about money and the less we pay attention to where it goes.
Proverbs 21:5Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity,but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Proverbs 21:17Those who live to party, who pursue pleasure, will end up penniless; those who enjoy lots of wine and rich food will never have money.
John G. Wendel and his sisters were some of the most miserly people of all time. Although they had received a huge inheritance from their parents, they spent very little of it and did all they could to keep their wealth for themselves. John was able to influence five of his six sisters never to marry, and they lived in the same house in New York City for 50 years.
When the last sister died in 1931, her estate was valued at more than $100 million. Her only dress was one that she had made herself, and she had worn it for 25 years. The Wendels had such a compulsion to hold on to their possessions that they lived like paupers. Even worse, they were like the kind of person Jesus referred to "who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God"
We have a life purpose, and we need to reflect on whether our use of money fits that calling and purpose that God has placed on our lives.
“Gain all you can" and "save all you can," but if we stop there, all is nothing.
Give All You CanHANDLE MONEY WISELY
How attached are we to our money?
A wise man gives GOD what God REQUIRES.
Proverbs 3:9 (NKJV) Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
A wise man SHARES his money GENEROUSLY with others.
Proverbs 11:25 (NLT) The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;those who help others are helped.
Proverbs 19:17 (VOICE)
Whoever cares for the poor makes a loan to the Eternal;such kindness will be repaid in full and with interest.
Proverbs 22:9 (VOICE) Generous people are genuinely blessed because they share their food with the poor.
There are two ways in which a Christian may view his money--"How much of my money shall I use for God?" or "How much of God's money shall I use for myself?"
A Christian businessman, R.G. LeTourneau (prolific inventor of earthmoving machinery), grasped the concept of honoring God and giving - he gave 90% and kept 10% for himself, no matter his financial situation! He became one of America's great industrialists. "The question" he said, "is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God's money I keep for myself."
John Wesley: “Gain all you can, without hurting either yourself or your neighbor, in soul or body, by applying hereto with unintermitted diligence, and with all the understanding which God has given you; -- save all you can, by cutting off every expense which serves only to indulge foolish desire; to gratify either the desire of flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride of life; waste nothing, living or dying, on sin or folly, whether for yourself or your children; -- and then, give all you can, or, in other words, give all you have to God.”
-Think how many of these have passed through your hands over the course of your lifetime.
-Think how many of these you have deposited into a drink machine or snack machine.
-Think how many of these you have left on a restaurant table to tip a waitress or waiter.
-Think how many birthday cards you have opened over the years and a number of these fell out.
-This $1.00 bill is just an “earthly tool” to be used in this lifetime to purchase goods and services. It won’t be needed in eternity.
-The greatest way we can use our money here on earth is to invest in those things that will make an eternal difference in someone’s life.
Wisdom and Finance: the Use of Money—Pastor Baker
one important reason that God entrusts people with wealth—so that they can give generously to others in accordance with the gospel. In the words of the apostle Paul, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11). The ideal envisioned in the Scriptures is an equality accomplished by voluntary sharing (2 Corinthians 8:13), not by forced redistribution. So we can say, at least, that God entrusts wealth to the few so that they will share it with the many.
1 Chronicles 29:11New Living Translation (NLT)11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
A worthwhile saying to remember on contentment is this: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without."
Sixteen of His thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. Jesus Christ said more about money than about heaven or hell combined.
We have created a society where it is possible to live on the basis of our desires instead of our resources. Wedo this though credit cards.I desire a new tv. I don’t have the money for it; but, instead of having to save for one, I can buy it on creditand have it now. I did not have the resources; but I had the desire. I now have the tv in my den. I also amin debt and have a monthly payment plus interest.Going into debt, not because of need, but because of desire, is a modern phenomenon.For centuries people were evaluated on the basis of how well they managed their resources to help others.That came way before spending it all on yourself.PROVERBS 22:7: The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
If you want to see how materialistic you are, take this little test: Suppose someone were to offer you a thousand dollars for every person you earnestly sought to lead to Christ. Would you try to witness to more people than you are doing now? Is it possible that you would do for money, even at the risk of blunders or ridicule, what you would hesitate to do otherwise in obedience to Christ's urgent commands? Is your love of money stronger than your love of God or the souls of people?
What is the prime goal of our lives? For what are we working? Jesus asks us today, as He did Peter, "Do you love Me more than these?" (Jn. 21:15).
