Don't Line Your Pockets With Pretense!

# 86 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 3:2,3 “A bishop (pastor) then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, Next on the list of qualifications for those who would serve in the office of pastor is he must not be “greedy for money.” The King James says “greedy of filthy lucre, ” and the idea is that the candidate for the office of pastor must not be one who is shameless when it comes to lining his pockets. The financial dealings of the pastoral candidate must be above board. Again, this is a benchmark for all followers of Christ. Jesus told us in Lu 16:10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? 13 "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." The “least” that Jesus is referring to here is “mammon,” and what makes mammon the least is in the end it rusts, moths eat it up, and it is burned up with fire on the Last Day! It is temporary! You cannot serve God and mammon. Only one can be your master. So, Christians and “pastors” ought to have an eternal view of mammon. One can see how important this is for the one who serves as overseer. There are many people who are hurting and some of them have money and it is easy for one serving as pastor to abuse this position of trust and use it to line his pockets. Jesus warned us of this in Lu 20:46,47, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." Wow! Who's got the greater condemnation? The one who lines his pockets by using pretense! Pastor! Be on guard for this one and constantly check your motivation for serving.