Lovers of Money

245 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2 “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, Let's look more closely at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at the “love of money.” We have already read of this matter in Paul's first letter to Timothy! 1Ti 6:9,10 says, “ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” You gotta love the way the Holy Spirit uses words! Drowning is a very graphic picture of someone's strength being sapped from them. And that's what the love of money does! It will divert your energy from those things that really matter, as you chase after more and more. Ec 5:10 says, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: This love of money and it's strength sapping consequences for the church is illustrated for us in the Old Testament account of Achan found in Joshua 7. The Israelites had just overthrown the city of Jericho and were given strict instructions from God to bring the bounty of their conquest into the treasury of the Lord. (Josh 6:19) But an Israelite named Achan pilfered some of the spoils and kept them for himself. Only Achan and his family and the Lord were aware of his transgression. No harm no foul right? Except the next time the Israelites (the church if you will) went out to battle they were soundly defeated by an inferior enemy! This God orchestrated defeat brought about a spirit of timidity to the Israelites (the church) v 10, “the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” When Joshua brought the matter before the Lord, this was God's reply, “Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies;” Don't miss the lesson here. A church that is overly concerned about money cannot stand before their enemies, they become timid, compromising, and weak. This story of Achan is a warning from God for all time. “Never allow greed to cause us to forget God's will! You cannot serve God and mammon!