The Three Temptations - Part 13
There is nothing wrong with wealth and power. God gives these to certain people who have the maturity of character to be able to steward wealth and power without being corrupted by it.
“But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”—Proverbs 13:22 (NKJV)
God’s servant Job was the richest man in the east. God praised Job, saying that, “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8 NIV).
Abraham, who is “the father of all who believe,” according to Romans 4:16, “was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold” (Genesis 13:2 AMPC).
God is not at all opposed to His children having wealth and influence, in fact the Word says that “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NKJV).
As the Word says, promotion to positions of power and influence comes from the Lord.
“No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.”—Psalm 75:6-7 (NIV)
Joseph was promoted to be the second most powerful person in Egypt, subject only to Pharaoh.
Daniel was promoted to be the most powerful and trusted president in Babylon, second only to the King.
“Because of his extraordinary spirit, Daniel soon surpassed the other officers and the chief administrators—so much so that the king had plans to set him over the entire kingdom.”—Daniel 6:3 (CEB)
The Lord exalted Moses to be like a god to Pharaoh.
“The Lord said to Moses, Behold, I make you as God to Pharaoh [to declare My will and purpose to him]; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.”—Exodus 7:1 (AMP)
What matters is the motivations of our hearts. It is when the pursuit of wealth and power become a primary pursuit in our lives that it becomes idolatry, replacing our first love for God.
“Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to control yourself. Wealth can vanish in the wink of an eye. It seems to grow wings and fly away like an eagle in the sky.”—Proverbs 23:4-5 (ICB)
God doesn’t mind us having wealth. He just doesn’t want *it *to have us. Our hearts must always be totally His.
“If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.”—Psalm 62:10 (NKJV)
Jesus warns us in the parable of the sower that if we focus on the pursuit of wealth and power in life, we are opening ourselves up to deception. The pursuit of wealth and influence will derail our true purposes in life and prevent our lives from bearing any lasting fruit.
“As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.”—Matthew 13:22 (AMPC)
Some Christians have become so deceived that the pursuit of wealth and influence has replaced the true Gospel message in their lives.
“They are always making trouble, because they are people whose thinking has been confused. They have lost their understanding of the truth. They think that devotion to God is a way to get rich.
“Devotion to God is, in fact, a way for people to be very rich, but only if it makes them satisfied with what they have. When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out.”—1 Timothy 6:5-7 (ERV)
Psalm 49 puts this in perspective for us:
“They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave.
“Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind. The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals. This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude
“Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates. But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude
“So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success. But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day. People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.” —Psalm 49:6-20 (NLT)
At the heart of the third temptation is a desire to build a personal empire of wealth and influence that is ever increasing. It is a lust of the eyes that can never be satisfied, always wanting more, always desiring to reach a higher pinnacle of wealth and power.
Believers who give themselves over to building their personal empires of wealth and power can easily find themselves in agreement with the heart motivation of Lucifer:
“For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”—Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJV)
It can be so easy, as followers of Christ, to rationalize our motivation to pursue wealth by telling ourselves that we can do both. We may tell ourselves that we can serve God and His Kingdom while building our own empire of wealth and influence at the same time.
But Jesus knows our hearts, and He speaks truth to dispel this rationalization. He tells us clearly that succeeding with this divided focus is impossible. You must choose one or the other.
“No household servant can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”—Luke 16:13 (CEB)
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”—James 1:8 (KJV)
“Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God]; and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away.”—James 1:9-11 (AMP)
