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” (Deuteronomy15:7-8; 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).
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
and according to wise King Solomon; “For there is a man whose labor is with
wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has
not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for
all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under
the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the
night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23).
Since
something dramatically 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 which is first and foremost to set our minds on things above and
not on the things of this earth and follow the advice of the wise king Solomon
who wrote; “nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and
that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the
hand of God” (Ecclesiastes
2:24).
It
is therefore imperative that we train ourselves and the future generations to
focus on the spiritual things, for God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a
man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering
and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is
vanity and grasping for the wind.
https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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