not
to worry
But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that
both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as
though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and
they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as
not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
(1Corinthians 7:29-31 KJVR)
As unspiritual persons we seek the good things God has
put in the world for our personal pleasure and for a proof of our great human
ability (self worth). God will not give His glory to another. As spiritual
children will ought to be so zealous and enraptured in God’s Love and Salvation
that we will use the things of this world for the testimony of God, that He IS,
who He IS and what will become of us when we pass from this clay into His
heaven.
A husband and wife following Christ will demonstrate
God as a Father, Christ as a Bridegroom and by the Holy Spirit breathing in and
on us. They will help teach us the church
to be Father’s own beloved born again
children, His Son’s body: Christ’s beloved fiancé. A Christian family will be a microcosm of the
church macrocosm being groomed for His marriage supper. We are being groomed to
be governed in His Kingdom in everlasting and perfect peace and love. We really
can be groomed and governed today! But it will be costly.
If we become abusive of each other and of the things
we now have (access to) we will likely not be given more to abuse.
Frighteningly it seems we may, if we will, run outside of the boundaries God
(quit on God, backslide willfully) has established and practice abuse. Those
who do while professing the name of Christ are very, very foolish. Lot’s wife
looked back on the lushness of Sodom.
Ananias and Sapphira simply wanted credit they did not deserve along with money
that was rightly their own! Why do we take the gifts God give for our benefit
to aggrandize our reputation before men?
It is a mystery to this writer why God does not
continue to provide such examples to us today. It is also a mystery that this
writer has lived as long as he has, for he abused much and did abuse very
willfully. God has been very, VERY merciful.
The abusive eros (selfish, self absorbed) beast is
isolated, even when in the midst of people. His or her selfish agenda is his or
hers alone and not shared ever or at all except to gain an advantage by which
to stay in control and feed narcissistically grooming good looks, good
feelings, good reviews (for being right), so that at the end of the day one can
sleep undisturbed. To have that kind of peace will last as long as it does, but
before God who is “keeping it real” that peace will be disturbed in time. When
we get a good look at the real us, when I get a look at ME as I really am, my
inheritance from Adam mars what God has intended me to become. Let Christ be
fully formed in me and thee.
Christ was the only human being ever that lived
humanly with no private agenda. His life amongst the people was lived for the
purpose, plan and will of His Father. He taught His students:
“Our FATHER
which art in heaven, hallowed be THY Name (not MY name), THY (not MY) will be
done, THY(not MY) Kingdom come in earth as it is in heaven.”
We live best when we live as servants of others. When
we serve only ourselves, our “success” is unshared and we are thereby isolated
from every other person. In God’s economy real success is making sure my
neighbor has everything they need, even if it costs me something, much or
everything I have. We are much inclined to serve our own children in this way,
but God sent Jesus to serve all His children, even those gentiles not of His
Jewish bloodline. Today in the USA
we have many “patriots” who will serve their fellow countrymen, but not the
foreigner (strangers) in the land. Why do people close off their neighbors and
strangers? We Christians even close off other Christian denominations.
Jesus came to save those who were diseased, sinners
and enemies of His righteousness. Becoming our Savior, our healer, our Lord,
King and Israel’s
Messiah cost Jesus His human life. Jesus was humiliated, mocked, scorned and
rejected by His own people and handed over to their own enemies to be executed.
It is almost as if a really good and competent person was running for President
of the USA and the people
gave him/her over to ISIS to be killed! I used
to say to God, “Wouldn’t it be good to have Yassar Arafat killed?” I have
thought recently that we would be better off if Hillary Clinton died of a heart
attack. That is not how God thinks. Wickedness is offensive, but God forgives
all sin. Jesus forgave the ignorant soldiers who drove the nails in His hands
and feet. What has Hillary Clinton done to me? Yassar Arafat did cause the
murder of many Jews, but Jewish Jesus, Jesus the Lord of ALL, Jesus the Son of
God was murdered on account of my sin and yours!
Say unto them, I live--an affirmation of the Lord
Jehovah, I delight not in the death of the wicked, But--in the turning of the
wicked from his way, And he hath lived, Turn back, turn back, from your evil
ways, Yea, why do ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11 YLT)
It is frightening how cruel I (humanity) can become if
I do not submit to God’s government and righeousness! It is so very, very
comforting to know how forgiving, loving and faithful God is; He IS our Father,
our Savior and our Defender! But let not God’s mercy be abused. The Messiah
abuse once on the cross will not be so abused again. Let me not sin again!
The world’s richest are envied by most everyone else.
Some inherit great wealth. Some create great wealth inventing mouse traps and
better mouse traps. And many cheat and steal to become just like them. It is so
brutal an affair that many murder and are murdered as they seek riches. Men and
women want some and much pleasure before they die. Having rejected God whom
they do not see or hear men and women cannot regard their fellow man and women
as anything more than adjuncts to their pursuit of happiness in whatever state
of daily life and liberty is present to them. It is one day at a time but
altogether WITHOUT Sweet Jesus.
In the dog eat
dog competition the world recommends, a few learn that creating lawlessness
cabal they can gain power, and hoard riches by the abusive use of their fellow
men and women. I have marveled at Solomon’s writing of Ecclesiastes. Solomon
was the richest and wisest man alive, and few have come near to his status
since. Yet he wrote of what he saw as many great inequities and injustices
among men. There is today a collective longing for righteousness (justice) and
equity, but with little or no knowledge of God who IS righteous. God can
inspire men to be perfectly righteous and equitable toward each other. But it
will cost men their pride.
Ecclesiastes 2:14-21 AMP The
wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I
perceived that [in the end] one event happens to them both. [Prov.
17:24.] Then said I in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it will
happen even to me. And of what use is it then for me to be more wise? Then I
said in my heart, This also is vanity (emptiness, vainglory, and futility)! For
of the wise man, the same as of the fool, there is no permanent remembrance,
since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man
die? Even as the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was
grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after the wind and a feeding
on it. And I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing
that I must leave it to the man who will succeed me. [Ps. 49:10.] And
who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have dominion
over all my labor in which I have toiled and in which I have shown myself wise
under the sun. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)! So I
turned around and gave my heart up to despair over all the labor of my efforts
under the sun. For here is a man whose labor is with wisdom and knowledge and
skill; yet to a man who has not toiled for it he must leave it all as his portion.
This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a great evil!
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 CJB Another evil I have seen under the sun, the
kind of mistake rulers make, is that fools are promoted to high positions,
while the rich [noble] occupy humble places. I have seen servants riding
horses, while princes walk on foot like slaves.
Jesus told of the steward who was abusing his masters
property. When discovered he lost his position as steward and being too old to
labor sought some “remedy” to his newly accomplished poverty. He went right on
abusing on his last day at work by slashing the debts of his masters debtors,
ingratiating himself for their future consideration. He was commended for that
shrewdness by his master.
Luke 16:1-8 CJB Speaking to the talmidim [disciples], Yeshua [Jesus] said: "There was a wealthy man
who employed a general manager. Charges were brought to him that his manager
was squandering his resources. So he summoned him and asked him, 'What is this
I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, for you can no longer be manager.'
" 'What am I to do?' said the manager to himself. 'My boss is firing me,
I'm not strong enough to dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to go begging. Aha! I
know what I'll do — something that will make people welcome me into their homes
after I've lost my job here!' "So, after making appointments with each of
his employer's debtors, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my boss?'
'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. 'Take your note back,' he told
him. 'Now, quickly! Sit down and write one for four hundred!' To the next he
said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he
replied. 'Take your note back and write one for eight hundred.' "And the
employer of this dishonest manager applauded him for acting so shrewdly! For
the worldly have more sekhel [intelligence,
common sense, "smarts."] than those who have received the light — in dealing with their own
kind of people!
The 1599 Geneva Bible makes this note on verse 8:
“This parable does not approve the steward's evil dealing, for it was
definitely theft: but parables are set forth to show a thing in a secret way,
and as it were, to present the truth by means of an allegory, even though it
may not be exact… so that by this
parable Christ means to teach us that worldly men are more clever in the
affairs of this world than the children
of God are diligent for everlasting life.”
Jesus
completes the lesson saying:
Luke 16:9-13 CJB "Now what I say to you is this: use worldly wealth to
make friends for yourselves, so that when it gives out, you may be welcomed
into the eternal home. Someone who is trustworthy in a small matter is also
trustworthy in large ones, and someone who is dishonest in a small matter is
also dishonest in large ones. So if you haven't been trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who is going to trust you with the real thing? And if you
haven't been trustworthy with what belongs to someone else, who will give you
what ought to belong to you? No servant can be slave to two masters, for he
will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be
loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money."
The 1599 Geneva Bible continues note on verse 9: "Now what I say to you is this: use worldly wealth
to make friends for yourselves, so that when it gives out, you may be welcomed
into the eternal home.”
This is not spoken of goods (worldly
wealth) that are gotten wrongly, for God will have our bountifulness to the
poor proceed and come from a good fountain: but he calls those things riches of
iniquity which men use wickedly.
That is the future homes of the poor Christians: for they are the
inheritors of these habitations (homes); Theophylact.
…and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use
this world, as not abusing it: for
the fashion of this world passeth away. (1Corinthians 7:29-31 KJVR)
Things as they are and as they operate NOW are going
to change, and the change will be total.
“…use worldly wealth to make friends
for yourselves…”
Life anywhere becomes very difficult when so very much
of what we see of strength is the strength of sin. God’s intention is that in
this life we become useful. We all have been less than useful and some very
abuse full. We have all been abused and evilly used, and we all have abused
others and used them for our own evil plans. Even if we have only thought of
abusing and evilly using others, Jesus teaches us we have already done as much in
our heart while beholding them with our eyes.
"You have heard that our fathers were told, 'Do not
commit adultery.' But I tell you that a
man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with
her in his heart. If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw
it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body
thrown into Gei-Hinnom. And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and
throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole
body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. (Matthew 5:27-30 CJB)
It is our hearts which need converting, and out minds
that need renewing and this will happen as we walk with God, following Jesus
into intimacy with Him and His our Abba. We must follow hard after the one who
followed every word of His Father that He might THEN LEAD US HOME to Him. God
has given us His Holy Book as a great Holy textbook. He gave Israel the Law
to guard and to teach them until Jesus came. Jesus then saved them, and saved
many and is saving still today. He is transforming men and women from abusers
into lovers as He God is Love and the Lover of our souls who FIRST Loved us!
A local pastor, a very passionate lover of Christ
teaches that we are never so directly challenged as when we are asked or
commanded to loose our purse strings for the poor, or the gospel (or even the
tax man!). Paul points to a day when money will be irrelevant to existence.
Jesus shows us how to use best worldly things, how to lay up treasures in
heaven. The love of money is a root of all evil. We simply cannot love money
without hating God and everyone else along the way! Jesus teaches us to seek
first the Kingdom
of God and His (God’s
own) righteousness and not to worry about anything we may need, God will
provide all and even an abundance we will not be able to contain. We will
almost certainly see it spill over the top of our storehouse walls into the
streets if we do not ourselves bless the poor, and even the poor in spirit with
what is from God’s OWN Holy Hands… not to worry!
