Pierced by Many Griefs

I am doing a study on the Sermon on the Mount. This is very fascinating, as there is much more to the Sermon on the Mount than just the Beatitudes that leap to mind, or the Lords Prayer. In any case, I was studying Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." As part of this study, I looked up the Greek word for 'Money', which is "Mammon". The definition of this word is 'confidence, i.e. wealth, personified; from the root 'mammonas', meaning avarice (deified). (Strong's Greek & Hebrew dictionary)

Consider our society today, and how many people have really deified Money and their possessions. People are concerned about having enough money in their 401(k)s, Roths, IRAs, and bank accounts. Even though monetary literacy and the concept of budgeting are at an all-time low, people are buying more and more expensive SUVs, Coach and Dooney-Burke handbags, the most expensive Blackberrys or Trios, and everyone has an iPod Nano souped up with the best and newest iTunes. Houses have gotten huge--it's no longer unusual to find a 4000+ square foot house in a 1 mile radius. In fact, 3000-4000 square feet is getting to be the MEAN size of house in several parts of the country, with some folks insisting they NEED 6000, 8000, even 10,000 square feet to live in. Of course, to finance these McMansions, people are getting adjustable rate mortgages, or interest-only mortgages, ignoring the fact that if they got a fixed rate mortgage they could not afford the mortgage payment, and in fact can barely afford the teaser-rate adjustable mortgage that they sign up for. Worse still, many people who sign up for these loans don't understand that their rate WILL go up after a short period of time, or don't understand that they aren't really paying for their house when they have an interest-only mortgage, but in fact are only paying what amounts to rent if they only pay the minimum payment.

Why are people doing this? They have bought into this idea that money and luxury goods, be it cars, houses, or bags, mean that you are successful and happy. Never mind the fact that many people who have all of these things are not happy, that is the message that Satan sells, and so many people have bought it! I myself am susceptible to it, I love the concept of buying these things...but really, they aren't important! 1 Timothy 6:6-12 tells us the secret: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

So, what is important, truly important to you? Consider carefully what you hold and value most high. I certainly have to constantly be vigilant for the lure of worldly luxury. May God always keep me from that deadly path!