One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. Of course, we would never … It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. Last time we discussed disobedience. In this post, we’ll look at wealth.
What is wealth?
The dictionary defines wealth as an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources. We may not consider ourselves wealthy, but look at God’s warning in Deuteronomy.
“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14
Most of us have enough food, decent houses to live in and plenty of stuff, even if we don’t have multiplied silver and gold. God’s warning applies to us.
How does money produce hardness?
Jesus told a parable about a rich man whose harvest exceeded expectations. His response to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to hold all stuff. God called him a fool, and required his soul that very night. The farmer’s comment tips us off to three key ways hardness happens.
‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘
Luke 12:19
Self-sufficiency.
Laziness.
Selfishness.
The man had arrived. His hard work had paid off. He didn’t need anything from anyone and he didn’t see a need to be generous with his excess. There was no indication that he was thankful or that he recognized his blessings came from God. He embodies the warning God issued in Deuteronomy. He was proud and forgot God.
We can land in the same place. We can see our things as resulting from our savvy, hard work rather than as a blessing and stewardship entrusted to us from God. We get proud and forget God.
How do you soften a heart hardened by wealth?
Jesus gives us some direction here from the Sermon on the Mount.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
Matthew 6:20
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:24
He says “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
In each statement, Jesus challenges us to examine our priorities. Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Chris, it is an idol.
Paul has similar instructions for Timothy
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:10-11
Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Christ, it is an idol.