January 30th, 2024 Issue
The Deceitfulness Of Riches
This link will take you to a full index of all the Heartfelt Exhortations that were written in previous newsletters. Making it easy for you to go back, and find what you are looking for.
The Deceitfulness Of Riches
For someone to truly understand the heart of God, in regards to how we should use the resources He provides for the needs of His children. We MUST define accurately what riches actually are, for His warnings are abundantly clear.
Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Luke 18:24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
The reason I entitled this lesson, The Deceitfulness Of Riches, is because that is exactly what riches do. They Deceive.
Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus makes it very clear that riches deceiving people, is a major reason why they fall away and don’t end up producing fruit for His Kingdom.
Many of us live in the wealthiest nation to ever exist, yet hardly anyone would admit to being rich. I have known multimillionaires, that honestly don’t think they are rich. I will do the best I can in this lesson to present you with the facts. It will be up to you to seek the Lord, with a humble honest heart, to hear what He thinks of your situation. Trust me, you don’t want to end up ignoring this issue. This is definitely one you want to have an abundance of clarity on.
Luke 16:19-25 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
What did Abraham say to the rich man? “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” The rich man had chosen to use his riches to comfort himself. Or as the passage in Luke 6:24 says “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.” The rich want to avoid facing any difficulties, so they keep extra resources for themselves, to help console them and give them a sense of security. Because the rich man ignored Lazarus’s plight, now he will be ignored.
Proverbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
So Christ is our example. What did He do for us?
2nd Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Christ laid down all the glories of Heaven, and took upon Himself a voluntary poverty, so we could have eternal riches. We can’t even wrap our heads around the extreme difference between being the Creator of all things dwelling in Heaven, then voluntarily being born in a smelly stable. Is it too much for Him to ask, that we also would voluntarily forsake holding on to things that we don’t need at this time, so others can have their needs met? Let’s look at one of the passages again from our last lesson.
2nd Corinthians 8:13-14 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
All Christ is asking, is that we:
Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
Can we actually prefer others above ourselves? Could we actually do for them, what we would hope they would be willing to do for us? The rich man ignored Lazarus’s condition. He certainly didn’t do for Lazarus, what he would have hoped Lazarus would have done for him, if the roles had been reversed.
1st Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
One of the things I am to charge those that are rich, is with a willingnesses to distribute. What did we learn from our last lesson? Giving your abundance to the poor, stores it up in heaven. Where it cannot be taken away or lost. James warned us very sharply what would happen to those that selfishly possess more than they need.
James 5:1-3 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Remember the reason the garments are getting moth eaten, is because they are sitting around not getting used. The gold and silver is oxidizing because it is not being used. Fire is a rapid form of oxidation. That is what the rich man is experiencing, because he ignored the needs of Lazarus, while He sought to comfort and console himself with his extra resources. Here is another example of someone that sought to console themselves with their abundance / riches.
Luke 12:13-21 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
“So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” God gave this man a great blessing, by giving him a bountiful harvest. But it isn’t about us. Our life does not consist in possessing an abundance of things. God is gracious to give us beyond what we need, so that we can be vessels that He can use to meet other peoples needs. God does not give you these things so you can lay them up for yourself. In fact to really live out what Christ is asking, it takes the grace and power of God.
Mark 10:21-31 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. 28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” Then He says again. “how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” The second time He says it, He adds the word trust. Plain and simple, people hold on to things because they don’t trust that God will provide it again, if they ever needed it. Therefore they put their trust in their extra resources.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Oh what the commentators have tried to do with this one. They say that the needles eye was a gate in Jerusalem. Someone I know was telling me that if you ask the guides over in Israel about that gate today, they will tell you it only exists in the commentaries. We know Jesus is talking about a literal sewing needle’s eye, because of the reaction of the disciples and Jesus’s response.
“they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
It is IMPOSSIBLE for man to pull this off on their own. Didn’t Christ tell us that “apart from Him we could do nothing.” That is why I said a couple paragraphs back “to really live out what Christ is asking, it takes the grace and power of God” The only way someone could truly live out what Christ is asking, is if they were in a intimate relationship with Him, and felt fully secure in His provision. That is what this is all about! The only way you will ever have that level of rest and trust, is if you truly KNOW Him. Every single one of these lessons always point us back to the importance of our personal relationship with Him. He is asking these difficult things of you to force you to look to Him, and trust Him. You will trust in something, either your riches or your loving Heavenly Father.
This may be hard to hear, but I believe it is very true. As you consider the standard of living that the Lord would have you maintain. It would be a good idea for you to spend some time with people that are truly poor, and I don’t just mean America poor. What truly transformed my understanding in this area, was going to places like Romania and Haiti. Being with the kind of poor people that Jesus spent His time with. Many people here in America, that are considered poor, have way more resources than many of your brothers and sisters in second and third world countries. If you have never felt and smelled the level of poverty, that some of your brother and sisters are living in, and will use the American way of life as some kind of guide to choose your standard of living, it may not come out right. The equality that Paul is talking about, is not within your local Church. The equality He is talking about is cross cultural, with people that were deeply impoverished. For me I felt I had to be willing to maintain a standard of living, that wouldn’t seem affluent, if I lived among the poor in Romania. Like I shared in the last lesson. They have the same climate and needs as I do in Michigan, with cold winters.
I will never forget coming home from Romania, and coming into the “small” home by American standards we were living in, and realizing just how rich we were. In the 1950’s the average house in America was 900 square feet, and had way more children on average than today. The average home I saw in Romania was around 450 square feet. Two rooms that were 15’x15’. With a good size family, and often the grandparents. These were the people that were fortunate enough to have a home. I can’t compare my living situation to the Haitians, because they don’t deal with the winters, and the extra legitimate needs that come with living in the north.
I can hear some of you saying “But zoning would never permit us to live that way”. That is not actually true. I had a friend that was a zoning administrator, and years ago when we were first setting up our homestead, he came to me and brought me information that was sent to him from a national zoning group. It made it very clear that in the United States zoning cannot block someone from living out their religious convictions. It also cited the court cases that had occurred that settled the issue. You can find those cases on the internet. In fact when the Amish first moved to our area 5 years ago or so. They started to build very simple dwellings without electric and plumbing. Everyone understands that the Amish have chosen their lifestyle, because of their religious convictions. Zoning can’t do anything about it.
Back in 2004 as I prayed about what the Lord would have our family do. I felt led to purchase a 30’ diameter Yurt, made by Pacific Yurts out in Oregon. The picture below is in the winter, close to maple syrup season. That is our sugar shack next to it. The Yurt is basically a glorified tent. So our family with eight children, lived in 706 square feet. Totally off grid, with a hand pump for water at the kitchen sink. We heated with a wood stove, and for many years simply used beeswax candles that we made ourselves for lighting. We have a friend that is a commercial bee keeper that we could buy large blocks of wax from. We also had a couple of outhouses, that I received permission for, from the health department. The head of the health department, happened to be the brother of one of my favorite high school teachers.
Remember the parable above about the farmer that built bigger barns. Spend some time thinking deeply on that one. After having lived in small dwellings for 20 years I can tell you one of the greatest blessings is that it keeps you lean and mean. In other words it inhibits you from accumulating stuff. Living in America you can fill storage units with free stuff all day long. By choosing to live in a very small dwelling, it really helps to keep things in perspective. Today’s tiny house movement has some good potential, for those that God is showing His heart too.
One of the reasons we chose to live as simply as we did, was to prepare some of our children for overseas missions work. The Lord had specifically made that clear to me, when we first started this journey. My oldest two, Jacob and Sarah, spent time over in Bangladesh, working among the poor. Sarah married a young man a few years later, that was on a team with her, working among the poor in Columbia.
It was very interesting to see what happened when they went to Bangladesh. Many of the young people they were with, really struggled with the culture shock. My children loved it and didn’t want to come home. They actually took a step up slightly in standard of living while they were over there. They thanked me for allowing them to have been raised so simply, because they saw how it had prepared them.
I don’t share any of this to try to convince you that you have to do just what I did. You need to hear directly from God, what He wants you to do. This was a process for us. Our first off grid experience, was in a small cabin we lived in that had electricity. We just turn off the breakers most of the time and only turned them on at certain points. It was something we gradually moved into.
I do want you to take all of this very seriously though. As an exhorter I am deeply grieved by much of what American Christianity has been teaching, and the example that leaders in the Church have been setting. We don’t have many passages that give us a clear understanding of what the criteria will be on the day of judgment. But here is one of them.
Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
It can’t get much clearer. God is telling you that those that are poor and needy are really Him. How will you let this impact you? What are you willing to do for the one that gave up everything for you? Are you going to use your resources to comfort and console yourself? Or are you willing to help bear the burdens of others?
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
There is one more thing the Lord is bringing to my mind that the Apostles were faithful to deal with. Both Peter and Paul were inspired to exhort the church in the very same way. Ladies I am only sharing with you what the Word of God says.
1st Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1st Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
The word modest is very important in these verses. Many times when we think of modesty, it is in reference to covering ones body sufficiently with clothing. There is another use of this word. Modesty in the sense of having a “modest income”. We understand that that means the person is not making very much money. Well both of the apostles are exhorting woman (I believe men should heed this as well) to make sure they are modest in how they adorn themselves. Obviously if the Lord has written on your heart a desire to use your abundance to meet the needs of the poor, you are not going to go out and spend that money on elaborate, expensive clothing and jewelry, or elaborate hair styles, like the apostles are talking about. Once again how we adorn ourselves should be in such a way that we would not feel out of place among brothers or sisters in the Lord that are lacking basic needs.
There are many reasons the rich create neighborhoods that have bylaws that exclude the poor. They not only want to protect their investments (earthly treasure, but avoiding the poor keeps them from coming face to face with others needs. By surrounding themselves with an affluent bubble, it allows them to have an out of sight and out of mind perspective. Jesus’s example was very different. We are called to follow His example.
I recently saw a bracelet that a friend of mine made out of the seeds from a Job’s Tears plant. It was very nice, but extremely inexpensive and simple. The seeds are various shades of blue, very pretty. I believe it was a beautiful example of modest adornment.
Not just one, but both apostles said “not with…gold” “let it not be that outward adorning of ….wearing of gold” Once again I realize I am not going to win the popularity contest with pointing this out, but yes they are telling us not to wear gold jewelry. Sorry. Gold jewelry is so commonplace among Christians in America that I don’t think it would be a good idea to use the local church as a place to sensitize yourself in this way. Once again, spending time among the very poor will give you clarity for sure on your Father’s heart in this area. Jesus loved the poor and spent a lot of time with them, and they loved Him and often received His message. It is only those that are rich that struggle with what He is asking. Everything I shared today would be good news to a poor person. If it wasn’t good news to you, you may want to question very seriously why that is.
Will you be a sheep or a goat? Remember “the last shall be first, and the first last”. The place you strive to occupy is your choice. Have you ever heard of someone striving to be last? Life is really very short, and just a vapor compared to all of eternity. If you voluntarily choose to prefer others above yourself, I know you will not regret it in eternity.
1st Timothy 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Thank you for your reminder that riches, earthly riches, are deceitful to us. May God Bless you as you minister to us.