What is keeping me away from God today?
Episode 89 - Will I dare ask myself if greed is an issue in my life? What is keeping me away from God today? Could greed be a problem?
There’s a French saying: some people are so poor, all they have is money. Today we are talking about replacing greed, and all forms of idolatry, with joy.
Greed. What does the Bible say about it?
Proverbs 1:19 - Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.
Proverbs 11:28 -Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
Greed doesn’t give. Greed robs. Greed robs YOU of joy.
To start us off, Stephanie challenges us--and herself--with seven questions to self-diagnose if we have unknowingly fallen victim to greed, in one form or another:
1. Is it MY money or God’s?
2. What would I do differently if I knew I would be dead in a year?
3. WHY do I want more money?
4. How do I spend my time? thinking of ways to earn more, or of ways to advance God’s Kingdom?
5. How would I behave if I lost everything?
6. Am I truly generous?
7. Do I compromise character to make more money?
Then we ponder the link between joy and righteousness and the only true cure against greed.
Idolatry is misplaced worship.
Proverbs describes where joy cannot be found.
The summary of the entire book of Proverbs can be found in Mark 8:36: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" That’s the definition of unrighteousness.
Joy "must be sharply distinguished both from happiness and from pleasure" - CS Lewis
Joy is “unsatisfied desire, which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” – CS Lewis again.
God promises to give us a joy that surpasses anything this world has to offer. Here’s the question: how much of your life to do you spend experiencing this joy, vs looking for joy elsewhere?
Psalm 35:27 - Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
Haydn, the great musician, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful, and he replied: "When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen ; and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit."
Joy is the juice of gladness that comes from the fruit of peace, itself springing up from the ground of righteousness – our righteousness in Christ. Matthew Henry defines joy as "a constant delight in God."
Who does the work of transforming our hearts to find satisfaction in God? God Himself is the One who transforms our heart to increasingly see Christ as our supreme treasure, even as we seek to find our satisfaction in Him.
Cyprian was a third-century North African. As he was anticipating death, he penned these last words to his friend Donatus in 258AD: “It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians—and I am one of them.”
This is an episode you do not want to miss. We look forward to serving you through it this week!
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