"The Love of Money!"

"The RICH man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment . . . " Luke 16:22-23

I believe that this passage is meant to teach us that riches bring special danger with them. Yes! Riches, which the vast majority of people are always seeking after riches for which they spend their lives, and of which they make an idol! Riches entail on their possessor, immense spiritual peril! The possession of them has a very hardening effect on the soul they chill; they freeze; they petrify the heart! They close the eye to spiritual realities. They insensibly produce a tendency to forget God.

What can be more obvious than the fact that the Bible has frequently spoken of money, as a most fruitful cause of sin and evil?

For money, Achan brought defeat on the armies of Israel, and death on himself.

For money, Balaam sinned against light and tried to curse God's people.

For money, Delilah betrayed Samson to the Philistines.

For money, Gehazi lied to Naaman and Elisha, and became a leper.

For money, Ananias and Sapphira became the first hypocrites in the early Church and lost their lives.

For money, Demas deserted the apostle, Paul.

For money, Judas sold Christ and was ruined eternally.

Surely these facts speak loudly!

Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. There is no doubt that it takes away some cares, but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away!

There is trouble in the getting of it.

there is anxiety in the keeping of it.

there are temptations in the use of it.

there is guilt in the abuse of it.

there is sorrow in the losing of it.

there is perplexity in the disposing of it!

Two-thirds of all the strife, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world, arise from one simple cause money! It seems desirable at a distance, yet it often proves a poison when in our hand!

And does not this stand in perfect harmony with all the language of Scripture on the same subject?

What does the Lord Jesus say?

"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle--than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!" Mark 10:23-25

"No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

"The deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful." Matthew 13:22

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions!" Luke 12:15

What does the apostle Paul say?

"Greediness, which is idolatry!" Colossians 3:5

"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!" 1 Timothy 6:9–10

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have!" Hebrews 13:5

There is nothing more deceitful, tempting, foolish, idolatrous, perilous and heart-ensnaring than the love of money!

[J. C. Ryle]

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