DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES
Mark 10:24 (AMPC) And the disciples were amazed and bewildered and perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
When Jesus was teaching on the parable of the sower, He said there are four types of soil: wayside (cement), stony ground, thorny (weeds), and good soil. The only soil that produces is the good soil. Today, we are looking at what He said about the soil with weeds in it. This soil never produces a harvest. When these people hear the Word, they receive it and, to some extent, do the Word. They begin to have a root system, a plant, and even some fruit. The only problem is that the fruit never becomes harvested fruit because the weeds that are in their soil choke out the Word. One of the weeds Jesus talked about that will always choke out the Word of God is the deceitfulness of riches. What a hot topic, which seems to always be a hot topic, in the Body of Christ right now. First, let’s get this straight: money is not the problem.
The Word of God will show us very clearly that money itself is not the problem, but the people’s heart toward it. Jesus describes the problem as the deceitfulness of riches. In 1 Timothy 6:10 it says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The love of money, and not money itself, is the root of all evil, which is a huge statement, by the way. What does it mean when someone loves money? They are money minded; they run all their decisions in life with the focus on how it affects their money. The word “covet” is also involved in the love of money and the deceitfulness of riches. They want what others have. Coveting is a heart problem. When you love money and covet after it and make all your decisions in life around it, you have a heart problem. You are deceived by riches. How do you get free? Do it God’s way. Tithe; give Him back what is His. Get your heart right when it comes to money. It is a tool; it is neutral. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and let the Lord add things to you.
Matthew 6:24 says it succinctly, “You cannot serve God and money.” In Mark 10:24, Jesus told them that you cannot place your trust in money because you will not be able to operate in the Kingdom of God. Let’s serve God and let money serve us. Let’s cling to Jesus. Let’s trust in Jesus so we can operate in the Kingdom of God. If we don’t deal with this issue, we will have weeds in our heart, and it will choke out the Word of God, and no fruit will ever come to full maturity. We cannot be deceived by money. We have to have money in its rightful place in our lives!