Day 291: Name It, Claim It Lies

1 Timothy 5:31-6:21; Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 120

Religion and riches. Wealth, money, prosperity. Just the other day I watched a video and read a blog about this very thing. Did you know that there are preachers and evangelists who preach that if they believe in Jesus enough and do enough good, they will be wealthy? It's amazing that scripture addresses such people 2000 years later. Paul tells Timothy, religion does make you rich--rich in contentment and peace; it has nothing to do with material wealth. Jesus never taught that we would be financially prosperous if we follow him. In fact, he taught the opposite: camels and rich men and needles, foxes have holes but he doensn't have a place to lay his head, big storage barns and dying the next day...Paul continues by saying that the love of money causes all kinds of problems including losing faith in God. People are so hasty to trade the (most valuable) invisible things for (worthless) visible things. Having money isn't bad, but wanting money is. Having money isn't bad, but not using it for The Lord is. Beware of preachers who preach a "name it and claim it," prosperity gospel. Be content with what you have and serve God with it.

It's true, God does bring warning of disaster for his people, but at the same time, the way he talks about the people and what he wants is so loving. He calls his unfaithful children home, he says he will forgive them, all God has ever wanted was to call them his children, give them the best land, be called Father. What loving language! But instead, followers of God, his chosen, decide to live in sin, and what is amazing is that they don't try to hide their sin. They have no shame. I think about today's world. People do all sorts of wicked things, and do they try to hide them? Often not! Jeremiah's words are eerily familiar and ring too true for comfort. God's mercy abounds, but so does God's justice. May we learn to be faithful children and call on God, our loving Father.

This psalm is short and seems a little pointless, but I think there must be a point. This psalmist is talking about a time when they live among liars and those who want violence. We live in a world that is often in complete opposition to the things of God. We want to live with love, peace, and faithfulness; the world thrives on hate, violence, and unfaithfulness. So what do we do? We do what the psalmist does at the beginning of the psalm: we cry out to God for help. We beg him to resuce us and to do a powerful work.