I Know Where You Live

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

"I know where you live," Jesus told the church in Pergamum ," where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name." Jesus knows where you live, too. And He understands that you are not living in friendly territory, but he wants you and me to remain true to His name, even in the midst of this foreign land.

For example, Jesus knows that we live in a world that believes owning and having are the trademarks of success. Where money is power and influence is bought and sold. Where your value and your worth are often based on your bank account.

It is not easy to live in this foreign land and not be bitten by the money bug. Jesus told us we cannot serve God and Money, with a capital "M", because he wants us to understand that money has spiritual power. That means it can exert an incredibly strong influence over us and cause us to do things we would never dream of otherwise.

We've seen many people who've been caught doing all kinds of wrong things for money. And we may think that we would never do that. But don't be so sure. Money corrupts quickly and we are all susceptible to its power.

What can we do, living in this world where money is king, to keep from being caught in this web of greed? First, we must constantly p ray about the power of money in our lives. I often p ray , "Lord, make me positionless and possessionless," and by that I mean, "Make me aware that I own nothing; everything I have is a gift from You and Your name is on the title. And any position I have is an opportunity for me to serve You and others. So help me to remember that I am positionless and possessionless."

Do you own things or do your things own you? One thing that will free you up from the power of money is to simplify your life and get rid of some stuff. Do you find this as hard to do as I do? All you have to do is walk through any mall and you can see a dozen things you think you can't live without, and the power of those things starts to take over. Maybe we need to stop shopping–just stop looking so we are not tempted.

If we want to remain true to the name of Jesus, we must put disciplines into our lives that free us from the power of money and greed. Jesus knows where we live, and He knows that everyone around us is money hungry. But He can give us the power to live free of this greed if we will let Him.

Christian Working Woman Transcript, February 8, 2006