Reality - August 25 '24
Today's sermon from Dave Lomas was about money, and it is refreshing to hear it; partly because I feel the topic largely escapes the pulpit, but also because I can also benefit from it.
Here, his focus is on how greed hides itself illustrated by Keller saying that no one has ever come to him to confess to greed.
No one thinks themselves greedy. But Jesus refers to money as a God, a demon, and one can only serve one master, not two.
He rightly points out that wealth is not the problem: there have been very important figures, such as Lydia, who were wealthy.
But money is not a neutral tool.
It is a means to something else, to the other things of life, and in this way, is a rival to God.
It's a source of status, identity, revenge, security, moral regeneration, control -- all of these things can come from money.
Conversion to jesus is to turn over heart, mind, and bank account, the most difficult of which i the bank account.
My own thoughts
In a secular podcast (although the guest shared that he was a Christian), giving was supposed to have a high correlation to income; the reason was that giving away money made one into a problem solver, and this led to growth in income.
I think this is likely true: giving should increase and become a part of what one does because it will result in more returns.