21 Jan. What do YOU worship?
"Don't store treasures for yourself here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them."
"Your heart will be where your treasure is."
"The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness."
"And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness."
"No one can serve two masters. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other."
"You cannot serve both God and worldly riches."
(Matthew 6:19-24)
Who or what do YOU worship?
Many non-Christians claim that they don't worship anyone or anything; but, sadly, they're usually 'blind' to what they actually worship.
Jesus 'hit the nail on the head' when he said that many people worship money instead of God.
We 'worship' what we value most, what we treasure most, and what has become the most important thing in our lives.
So what's the most important thing in life to YOU? Is it money - and the things it enables you to buy like expensive cars, luxury clothes, exclusive holidays and a big house?
Or is it God - and the things that the Holy Spirit enables you to do like praying for others, visiting lonely people, sharing your money and your meals with others, and enabling others to have a home of their own?
A recent article in 'The Guardian' newspaper stated that the world's 26 richest people own as much as the world's poorest 50%. We agree with the comment made by Caroline Lucas MP that Inequalities on such a scale are simply obscene.
Not that wealth in itself is wrong - we know a number of wealthy Christians who happily share a great deal of their money with others. But many people 'worship' money for its own sake, and build up vast amounts of wealth just to impress others, to show how 'successful' they are, and in order to live an extravagant lifestyle.
We ALL need money to buy ourselves food, clothing, accommodation and to support our families and those who are dependent on us. But we can choose what to do with the excess - Do we use our 'excess wealth' (what we don't really need) to enjoy an extravagant lifestyle, or do we use it to help others and to extend the 'kingdom of God' here on earth?
"You cannot serve both God and worldly riches" says Jesus in his 'sermon on the mount' (Matthew 6:24). And that applies to each of us today just as it did to Jesus's followers two thousand years ago.
The photo shows a Roman silver denarius coin (roughly a day's wages) from the reign of Augustus Caesar (63BC - 14AD).
You can read more from Jesus's 'sermon on the mount' @ The Bible Journey | Jesus's teachings on a hillside