ICS Daily Devotions
The Cost of Pursuing Wealth and Success
1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) But those who DESIRE to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (emphasis added)
In a materialistic world, there are a lot of people who are very concerned about what other people think of them and how they look at them. In fact, it is true that the bankers and housing agents will look at your net worth. It would be better if you have US$30 million investable assets than hardly any at all! You will be treated differently! We value the opinions of people therefore it can subconsciously drive us to ensure that we look good, do well and are respected by others. There is a tendency to want to show off to others that we are doing better than them. We show off our achievements based on our position in the company, the kind of company that we work for, the car that we drive or are driven around in, the house that we live in, the district where our apartment or house is located in, the credit cards that we have, the first or business class airport lounge that we can use, the restaurants that we like to frequent, the kinds of wine that we drink, the holiday destinations that we choose, the hotels that we stay in and the list goes on and on….
The cost for the pursuit of success and wealth can be very high. It will not just be in the monetary sense, but it might also cost us our health. It may the damage our soul (emotionally and mentally) and the relationships that we hold dearly in our lives. In fact, there are many occasions when people have died from overworking and the Japanese term for this is “Karoshi” (過労死, Karōshi), literally translated as “overwork death”. This is one kind of sorrow we all need to avoid!
The person cannot really stop when he is pursuing wealth because it is insatiable. We will never be satisfied nor feel that it is enough. It is a delusion to think that we will stop at the next dollar because there is always a draw for more money as we have built our security on it. There is also the fear of losing face because everyone is expecting us to do better year after year. We have already attained a certain standard of living therefore it is embarrassing for some when we seem to have a downgrade in lifestyle.
Our identity should not in the car we drive, the apartment/house we live in or our status in society, but it should be firmly grounded in Christ.
It is better to have our identity in Christ so that it is easier to start all over again if there is a need to do so in this ever-changing economic environment. With Christ, ALL things are possible.
Sermon Series – Balancing Godliness and Riches
