But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

        1 Timothy 6:9-10

It is my prayer that “Observable Truth” has been a good resource in helping to biblically explain what we can all observe going on in our world today. For our last installment of “Observable Truth,” we will, again, turn our attention to the all important issue of money and the deceptive influence that it can have on us. 

Two verses…that’s all we need to know about money and the power that it can have over some. “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.” There’s a lot here. Temptation, snares, foolish and harmful desires, ruin, and destruction. And all of this because someone wants to get rich. So why does the Bible warn of us of such things? Perhaps it’s because we are all susceptible to the lure of money. 

When we understand who we are and why we are here, it becomes much easier for us to understand these verses. Consider the following:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

  Isaiah 40:8

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

      Psalm 90:12

Because eternity is where we will spend endless days, doesn’t it seem practical to consider that over and above the here and now? But because of unbelief, greed, lust, selfishness, and a whole host of other sinful thoughts and desires that present themselves to us, we see the unredeemed fully investing in the temporal. Some even might believe that they can do that snd still be in good standing with God…a spiritual impossibility (Matthew 6:24). “Teaching us to number our days” means that we realize that life on this earth is short. It means that we should consider how we are living our lives and in whom and what we are investing our time. We are reminded that “the word of our God stands forever.” The temporal, along with all of mankind’s misguided pursuits for riches, fame, money, and power, will all come to an end but those who love, serve, and abide in God and His Word, those saved and belonging to Christ, will live forever. Our lives are like grass which is here today and gone tomorrow. One would think that this would be enough for people to begin planning for eternity but as we can observe in our modern culture, this thought seems to be non-existent in the lives of the masses. We are here to have unhindered fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. For believers, we are to be enjoying all of heaven’s resources as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit of God living within us. But all too often, people pursue things over a relationship with God. Tragically, many will never come to this realization and will pass from this life, leaving everything they have behind, and will move into an eternity apart from Christ. Truly tragic. Consider these verses:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 

James 4:13-14

Therefore be careful how you walk (live), not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

    Ephesians 5:15-16

The first verse, from James, reminds us that, again, life is fleeting. We make our plans but the ultimate in life planning is for us to surrender ourselves over to a loving God and Savior. Our lives are like vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we should “live as wise, not unwise” and that we should “make the most of our time because the days are evil.” As believers, God has given all of us a gift or gifts to use for the kingdom. It is this pursuit of serving God that moves us from the “unwise” category to the “wise.” But ignoring our true purpose and substituting the pursuit of things as the primary focus of our lives moves us dangerously close to that which brings temptation, snares, foolish and harmful desires, ruin, and destruction.

 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil…” This is important because God’s Word refers to the love of money as a “root.” A root is where things begin. A root is what feeds a tree causing it to grow. When we love money, worldly success, and the pursuit of status becomes the root of our lives, it leads to “all kinds of evil.” Why? Because we cannot live in the world of money, fame, and fortune without putting ourselves around another set of people, usually unbelievers. And once we enter into this world, we are now exposed to so many temptations and snares that bring many people down. This is evident in Paul’s statement, “some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Going back to the impossibility that we can serve God and money (Matthew 6:24), Paul reminds us that many who begin to pursue things over God have “wandered away from the faith.” The lure of things, which are temporal in nature, captivate the hearts of many and some, who profess faith in Christ, begin to move away from the things of God and into a world that is actually slipping through their fingers like grains of sand. It really is the ultimate in irony, that we would trade away the everlasting and an eternity of being satisfied for things which do not last and will never satisfy. But that is the human condition and thus we have the warnings from God’s Word to avoid such avenues of living. 

It’s interesting that Paul says these people, who have wandered away from the faith, have “pierced themselves” with many griefs. God isn’t causing their struggle nor is the world causing it either. They “pierce themselves” with many griefs by trading away the best for that which is not even comparable. This is what the deception of wealth can do.

Observable truth…seeing what the Bible says, played out on the world stage everyday. On which side of eternity do you find yourself today? Are you seeking a relationship with the eternal God or are you chasing after things that will never bring life or lasting satisfaction? The choice is yours! Live as wise, not unwise, by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ and then watching Him fill your life with that which lasts forever!

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

          Romans 10:9-13