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Monday, May 16, 2016

 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. – Apostle Paul (1Timothy 6:10)

 

Few things have the potential to cause us to wander from God’s purpose for our life than does the love of money. Notice, the Apostle Paul did not say that money is the root of all kinds of evil. What he says is, the love of money is the root of ALL kinds of evil. Think about this: What is the reason for most wars? What is the main reason for most lawsuits? Why do most family members argue and fight with each other? Would you agree that the answer to all these is money?

 

When Nehemiah and the people finished rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem, they came to the realization that one of the reasons for their downfall in the first place, was the love of money. They were so focused on their business dealings that they lost sight of the Temple. God was no longer their priority; their money had become priority number one. They had stopped bringing their fare share for the upkeep of the Temple and so they rendered God as less important.

 

Nehemiah 10:37-38 NIV

Key verses: 37A, 39B

“Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites…” “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

 

Looking ahead, they knew they could not afford to repeat the same mistake. As they read God’s law, they were reminded that God established giving as a reference point for them to use to evaluate what they loved more, God or money. Therefore, they entered into a written covenant with God, declaring that they would no longer neglect His Temple.

 

I today’s culture, we no longer focus on the Temple instead we focus on the Church. In Nehemiah’s time, the Temple was central to the community and giving. However, Jesus is building His church as central to the community and giving. You might ask, what is the difference? The Temple was an actual building where God would deposit His presence, however, His presence no longer resides in a Temple. Jesus did away with the Temple system, and established His church system. The church system has nothing to do with the building; instead, it has everything to do with the gathering of believers. God’s presence no longer lives in a building, it lives in the hearts of those who gather as a church to worship Him.

 

Matthew 6:21 NIV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Jesus has no interest in our treasures, what He really wants is our hearts. According to Jesus, wherever we decide to invest our treasures, our hearts will follow. In the days of Nehemiah, giving was important because it prioritized God as the central figure in the community. In light of this, think of how much more important giving should be now that we understand that giving prioritizes God and makes Him the central figure in our hearts.