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“So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain,
IT TAKES AWAY THE LIFE OF ITS OWNERS.”
Proverbs 1:19
When a man comes to the end of life, he may look back and evaluate all that made up his life. He may realize that the pursuit of wealth, if that is what meant most to him, has consumed a selfish life - and that life is empty of real value. He has money. But he is poor. He used his energies seeking wealth, but he dies empty. True is the saying, “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” That’s all they have. What a waste of a human life.
When a man is filled with the love of money, usually that’s pretty much all he thinks about. Family suffers because he’s not thinking about love or relationships, he doesn’t have time for that. At the end of his life, he will realize that he gave up his life in order to follow that one obsession, and now at the end of life, he realizes he really had no life. Both the rich and the poor come to the same end. If the grave of one is more ornate than the grave of the other, what does it matter?
The rich man is all about investments. He doesn’t put all his eggs into one basket, he knows there is more safety in spreading his money across many investment plans. His mind spins with watching charts, watching statistics, talking to experts, reading the books of other wealthy men, running, running, running to find the best places and learn the best strategies to increase the value of his wealth. What a fool. On a yardstick our life on earth is 1/16th of an inch, the rest is spent in eternity. How can a man so undervalue his life that he will spend it in the pursuit of wealth - to protect his 1/16th of life on earth?
Why doesn’t he use that same principle to invest in his eternity which is so much longer?
What the rich failed to take into consideration is the brevity of life. Seventy or eighty or even ninety years on this earth is a very small length of time in comparison to eternity. If our life on earth is 1/16th of an inch, of what value therefore is the life wasted in the pursuit of wealth? At the end it’s meaningless. It doesn’t satisfy - but many times it’s only at the end that a person realizes that. Even then some don't, and they go off into eternity with their wasted life.
Soon this life will be over.Too soon the rich man will take his first step into eternity. Eternity is a very long time to have to live in regret.
Jesus Christ addressed this very issue:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO.”
Matthew 6:19-21
“For where your treasure is…”
Jesus spoke to the futility of laying up treasure on earth. One's wealth will always be uncertain and subject to loss. Knowing that, the rich man spends his life seeking how to protect his wealth. Jesus said though, that there is a better way. It only makes sense if you understand the rule of the 1/16th. Jesus pointed to eternity. He advises man to spend the 1/16th of his life here - invested in the eternal. He advised the believer to lay up TREASURE in heaven, where he’ll have it for all eternity. What an investment! It will last forever! Safe for all eternity!
Furthermore, Jesus spoke to our needs in THIS life, while we're here in our 1/16th:
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and ALL these things shall be ADDED to you!”
Matthew 6:31-33
The wise man will think very seriously about the value of his life and legacy. Don't waste your life. Invest in treasure that will last forever.
"Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." Ephesians 4:26-27 How does one "give place to the devil"? Anger is an open door for the devil. He loves to create circumstances leading us into anger, because through the anger of man he can bring about all kinds of evil. Anger opens us up for bitterness to take over our hearts and once bitterness takes hold, the soul is spoiled. Bitterness is an extremely powerful emotion and does not leave us willingly. ONLY through Christ can we be delivered out of it. The words of a bitter person change the atmosphere in the room, indeed they defile not only the speaker's heart, but they defile the hearts of the hearers. Scripture says that many are defiled by the soul of the bitter person. Anyone in the presence of a person who is spouting out filthy anger is defiled just by hearing it. "...lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this MANY BECOME DEFILED;" Hebrews 12:15 Bitterness cannot produce good for it is evil in itself. When we are hurt, when we are angry at someone, the natural response is to hurl angry and bitter words back. But those angry responses cannot bring any hoped-for results, they will only further the turmoil. They will not bring the hearer into understanding your point, they can only make the person more angry. Always remember this: "The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God." James 1:20 Satan constantly tries to create scenes of bitterness. Oh how he loves to get people embroiled against each other. In fact, he actively goes around looking for people he can work through to bring about all sorts of hatred and anger and bitterness: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR." 1st Peter 5:8 The Scripture continues and shows us what our response to Satan must be: vs 9: "RESIST him, steadfast in the faith..." Resist him. Refuse to participate in angry exchanges. Be aware that Satan brought about the bitter argument, it is not the person, it is Satan causing this. If you truly understand this, that understanding will enable you to refuse to continue in it. RESIST him. "I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, LEST SATAN should take advantage of us; FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES." 2nd Corinthians 2:10-11 Jesus said of Satan: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." John 10:10 Stop him in his tracks. Refuse to be a part of it. Instead, be merciful, be kind, be aware that the bitter person is a victim of the workings of Satan and is ensnared in it as surely as an animal is secured in a trap. You who understand this, do not engage in that bitterness lest you too become defiled with it. Father, we pray: Satan, our unseen enemy, causes circumstances designed to lead us into anger because he knows that out of man's anger he can bring about all manner of evil. Help us O God, to recognize these plots for what they are, and to say to them "NO." Let us not grieve your Holy Spirit with the defilement that wrath works in us, but rather grant us grace to overcome, to defeat the wiles of the devil, and to have a right heart before you. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30
"When wisdom enters your heart,
and knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you,
to deliver you from the way of evil,
from the man who speaks perverse things,
from those who leave the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil,
and delight in the perversity of the wicked;"
Proverbs 2:10-14
"When wisdom ENTERS your heart…"
We are not born with wisdom. And in the perverse world we live in, one will not obtain wisdom from it because the world IS perverse. Your counselors will tell you things you want to hear and they will sound right, but are not. Your professors will speak with an air of authority, but their authority comes from the world which opposes the wisdom of God.
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."
1st Corinthians 3:19
Wisdom can only enter your heart if you SEEK it from its author, the creator of the universe who alone defines it.
It's not innate, it has to be sought. It has to be asked for.
"Yes, if you CRY OUT for discernment,
and LIFT UP YOUR VOICE for understanding,
if you SEEK her as silver,
and search for her as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God."
Proverbs 2:3-5:
The Scriptures tell us that wisdom is directly related to "the fear of the Lord," not a popular virtue these days and certainly not politically correct. As the days advance and the time of the end draws near, the masses will abide in the philosophies of the world which are contrary to the wisdom of God. It won't be easy to remain in the "fear of the Lord," because “the wisdom of the world” will constantly push back against us, trying in every which way to overcome us. Cry out therefore for discernment, lift up your voice in prayers for true understanding, because the voices of the world will surround you calling to you loudly, attempting to draw you in. It will cause divisions in families and it will destroy friendships. You will have to let them go their way, being willing to walk alone if need be, and for many that will be the case.
vs 6-7:
"For THE LORD gives wisdom,
FROM HIS MOUTH come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,
he is a shield to those who walk uprightly."
SEEK knowledge and understanding from the Lord. They alone can keep you when all around you people are falling away.