The Path You Are On is Not Going to End Well
Silver and Gold
Silver and Gold
Malcolm Forbes was one of the wealthiest people to have lived in our time. The billionaire publisher was the one who came up with the oft-quoted phrase, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Forbes had plenty of toys: boats, planes, and castles. He had all the symbols of status that our world has to offer. He had what many of us desperately want: prosperity, power and privilege.
I don’t know Malcolm Forbes.
And I don’t know what his motivation for saying…
"He who dies with the most toys wins."
But this saying has received a lot of attention.
It became a popular bumper sticker
and the focal point of many sermons.
The third king of Israel, Solomon,
also was the winner of the most toys.
He said…
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well — the delights of the heart of man.
I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
Ecclesiastes 2:4-9
Yet, with all he had worked for
those things did not achieve the meaning of life.
Spending money always makes us feel better,
if we have the money.
All of us fall in between poverty and great wealth.
We all think about money.
Some think of how to get it…
Others think of how to spend it.
Whether it is the old standard of silver and gold or…
Fiat currency (a national currency
whose value is derived from
a country’s promise to back it), or
Crypto, (digital currency).
Currency is only a tool.
Someone added to Malcolm Forbes saying…
"He who dies with the most toys, is still dead."
So if we all die and take nothing of this world
with us, should our attitude be…
Life is short so do whatever feels good?
For most of us we don’t have to worry
about working to buy a private jet.
We worry about…
“If we don’t work, we will not eat.”
The cost of living in the world has increased so fast,
people who felt secure in “silver and gold”
are now questioning if they will have enough.
Proverbs 16:16 tells us…
There is something more valuable
than silver and gold.
How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to choose understanding rather than silver!
Many people have lost wealth because…
They did not have the
wisdom and knowledge to keep it.
Others live in poverty because…
They don’t have the wisdom and knowledge
to gain the silver and gold
to pay their basic bills.
The world economic condition demands
more wisdom and knowledge than ever
before to make a living.
But we can’t find meaning
and purpose by just getting by.
It is more blessed to give than receive.
Welfare does not feel good.
We are living in a time where we need
wisdom and knowledge
more than ever.
James 1:5…
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him.
God desires to give us wisdom and knowledge.
Jesus tells us to pray to our Father in heaven
and to ask for our daily bread.
Luke 11:5-13 tells of a man who
in the middle of the night wakes up his friend
asking for three loaves of bread.
Not for himself,
but for a traveling friend.
It was the persistent knocking
that the man opened the door
and gave the bread for his traveling friend…
So he would have something to eat.
It is a time we need to be persistent
in our asking for bread.
Asking for the wisdom and knowledge
in order to not only feed ourselves, but others.
Deuteronomy 8:3…
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Out of God’s mouth comes
the Words of Life.
Words of wisdom and knowledge that will give us
the answers to a purposeful and meaningful life.
If you are concerned about your bills,
than when you pray remember…
Pray for God’s wisdom and knowledge
in a way that you can be used.
Jesus is still able to feed the 5000 and the 4000,
plus, all the women and children.
Be careful your need for silver and gold
does not get in the way of your real need…
The need for more wisdom and knowledge
from our heavenly Father.
My Dad used to tell me…
“When you are young you can work harder,
but when you are older you must work smarter.”
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you
Daniel 2:21-23
Scripture Reading
How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to choose understanding rather than silver!
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