It is stated categorically;
“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your
desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You
murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have
because you do not ask.’
“You ask and do not receive,
because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and
adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship of the world is enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of
God” (James
4:1-4).
It is because our system is
established and operates on Satan’s method of ruler-ship, Jesus Christ had to
fore-warned us saying; “No one 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” (Matthew 6:24).
It is quite evident that our
society worldwide is controlled by mammon. Without money to solicit the
services of a professional competent lawyer, it is almost inconceivable to find
justice in a court of law, regardless of how much evidences and facts one may
present in court.
It is quite apparent that without
the power of mammon, one who requires surgery or treatment for certain
diseases, sickness or accidental injuries may not be that fortunate to survive
which somehow portrays God as one who favors the rich, and neglects the poor.
Even our modern day preachers are inclined to portray God in this light.
But contrary to their prosperity
gospel, the word of the Lord says; “If there is among you a poor man of your
brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is
giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor
brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him
sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.”
“You shall surely give to him,
and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this
thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which
you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I
command you, saying, you shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your
poor and the needy, in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8; 10-11).
We are admonished by the Lord to,
“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the
abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).
Now to those who are fortunate to
be possessors of the riches of this world, the instructions to them are as
follows:
a. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves
by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an
everlasting home. 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: Therefore, if you
have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust
the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's,
who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:9-12).
b.
“Command
those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in
uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to
enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give,
willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to
come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
The spirit of covetousness and
pride is not of God, it originated from the prince of the power of the air,
hence the reason why we have been duly admonished saying; “Do not love the world
or the things in the world: If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. For all that is in the world --- the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life --- is not of the Father but is of the
world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the
will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
Living through the COVID 19 pandemic
should be a vivid example and experience to everyone as to how fragile and
insecure the material things are and how we should be focusing on the spiritual
aspect of life instead of the materialistic things, for what profit is it to a
man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man
give in exchange for his soul? And how fast can someone leave behind everything
he/she has worked and toiled for.
Since something drastically has
to happen in order to give hope to our future generations, and this change will
certainly not come from the system, it will necessitate that the change or
changes that are required comes from us individually. So then, what are the drastic
changes that we are required to do in order to give hope to our future
generations?
To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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