Made Rich By God's Grace In Jesus

"Today's Devotion" For February 16, 2006

Read: I Timothy 6:3-10; Ecclesiastes 5:8-12

MADE RICH BY GOD'S GRACE IN JESUS

"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." (I Timothy 6:10)

On Tuesday of this week, our local newspaper had an article that typifies our current culture milieu. The article was entitled, "For $5 million, lawyers can ease the pain of indignity." Was this a story of the "legal eagles" flying to the rescue to right an egregious wrong perpetrated by some low-life "scum" who had taken advantage of some poor, defenseless people? Alas, the story only served to let us know that there are "legal eagles" out there who are more concerned with "feathering their nests" than flying to the aid of the "injured."

These "legal eagles" filed a class action lawsuit against a prominent, multi-state cable television provider whom they claimed had sold private information about their customers to marketers. Of course, the consumers who are supposed to be the plaintiffs, for the most part don't know they're supposed to be the plaintiffs - the offended parties - at least not yet. They're going to be contacted when the settlement is reached. In its defense the cable company denies any wrong doing, but the allegations are still there. They've been fighting the lawsuit for the past seven years and determined it would be a better business decision to offer a settlement than to continue to drain company profits - and stockholders' confidence.

What's the settlement you ask? A number of free services to the "injured parties" for a period of a month - including two fee $3.95 Movies On Demand movies, providing one already has digital cable - for which they will have to continue to pay after the "settlement period" is over, or cancel the service. Oh, wait! There's more! It seems the "legal eagles" who have flown to the rescue of aggrieved consumers are going to receive a payment of $5 million. They defend the money settlement because of the length of time they've been working on the lawsuit, the fact that four different law firms have worked on the lawsuit, the fact that this lawsuit was so extraordinarily complex, and that the cable company is now required to have a "privacy officer" who job will be to make sure they don't do it again.

Is anyone, besides me, offended by this? It's not the cable company's alleged "violation" of my privacy that is offensive (we had their service during the four years they're alleged to have sold private information about our household), but the ridiculous nature of the settlement. While the allegedly aggrieved consumer gets next to nothing, how, we may ask, does a month of free services compensate for the loss of one's privacy? And if the consumer's are really the aggrieved and injured parties, why are the "legal eagles" flying high with a $5 dollar settlement? Their answer, of course, is that the money is just recompense for all their hard work bringing this egregious "wrong" to the light of day and a "big, bad corporation" to justice.

Yet, we shouldn't be surprised. This attitude and such actions are taking place every day some place in our nation. When St. Paul wrote to Timothy about the challenges facing God's people in the world, he noted that there were many who thought that "godliness is a means to financial gain" (I Tim. 6:5). Human self-righteousness seeks to validate itself by the financial, material, and power gains it makes when it rights a "wrong" (as defined by the accuser). There are even many Christians who preach a "health and wealth" message that claims that God wants Christians to be financially secure, even rich, often going so far as to claim that Christians who aren't financially secure don't have enough faith. Such claims are in direct contradiction to God's Word, such as Paul's counsel to Timothy. Truly, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (I Tim. 6:10). Certainly a good steward will exercise good judgment to "grow" the resources God gives him or her to care for, but God doesn't promise that the result will be great personal riches.

Money isn't an "accursed" thing. In and of itself it's only a tool of commerce - a means of exchange for the value of good and services provided. Paul's words are quite clear. He doesn't say, as is often misquoted by so many, that the "love of money is 'the' root of all evil," but that it is "a root" of "all kinds of evil." When used for its intended purposes, money becomes a useful tool that God uses to provide us with food, clothing, shelter, health, and other necessities of life. When it's abused, however, as in the case of "frivolous" lawsuits and claims that God wants His children to be wealthy, it becomes a tool for evil and the fueling of greed.

Money has a powerful allure for us sinners. It can take on a life of its own, with no room in that life for a faithful, trusting, and loving relationship with our Father in heaven. By the power of God's Word and the working of His Spirit, however, we are empowered by faith to overcome the temptation to make "money" our god, and put our lives into the hands of our Creator. As we live our lives each day then, we live them with the sure and certain assurance that God will provide, just as He has promised, for our every need. His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of all our sins in Jesus is the greatest wealth He has given us. Living with those great riches, we are empowered to touch the lives of others with Christ's love and compassion, His forgiveness and peace, and share our "wealth" with them. We don't have to "sue" for such blessings; they are ours because we are in Jesus.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for every gift and blessing You give me each day which sustain my life and meet my every need. Thank You for the great "wealth" You have given me through faith in Jesus, for how much wealthier can I be than to know Your forgiveness of all my sins because of His sacrifice on the Cross? Forgive me, Father, for too often thinking that "if only I had just a little more money everything would be better." Forgive me for thinking and acting as if my life, my health, and my welfare can only be sustained with more money and more things. Help me to remember that there is no greater treasure than Your forgiveness and the relationship You give me with You in Jesus. By the power of Your Word and Spirit help me to be content with what I have and to live my life as a good steward of Your blessings to me as an example to others. Let me be a faithful and true witness of Your love for humanity in Jesus and let each life I touch be filled with Your blessings. Hear me, gracious Father, for the sake of Jesus. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.