Today's Readings: New Testament -
Matthew 24:15-35
James 5:1-6
Old Testament -
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
Jeremiah 23-25
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: James 5:3-6
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Insight:
Hoarding and self-indulgence are wrong. Our possessions and the blessings God gives to us should be used to honor God. We cannot honor God if we consume resources and money at the expense of others who work but do not receive a fair wage.
We are self-condemned if we turn a deaf ear toward the needs and cries of developing countries and economies. God hears their cries and we will face his judgment if we consume without regard to the destructive impact our consumption is having upon the innocent, the downtrodden, and the vulnerable.
Response & Action:
As a Christian in the USA, I need to recognize the ethical responsibility that accompanies the material blessings I enjoy. I need to be a careful consumer—giving thought to what I purchase, how much I purchase, why I purchase, and what affect these purchases have on others.
I should be willing to pay more for goods and services if it results in better circumstances for needy people who produce them. I should avoid investments and purchases that profit from exploiting people in need. I should be careful to consider how my choices impact their economies or living situations. I should make consumer choices that are good for the environment and developing economies. I must be generous and give to causes and efforts that are lifting people and countries out of poverty.
O God, I thank you for the abundant provision and blessings you have poured out on me. Help me to be a good and faithful steward of all you have given. Give me a caring heart, a discerning mind, and a watchful eye that I might avoid selfish consumption and hoarding habits. Help me to be careful in purchases, wise in investments, and generous in contributions. Make me quick see ways to use what you have given me to serve others. Make me slow to desire or buy the things I really don't need. Give me a compassionate and generous heart for those who are in need. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Luke 12:15
15 Then he (Jesus) said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Resources:
Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions
by Craig L. Blomberg
