Galatians 5:26 (NKJV) 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Envy. It’s something we’re warned against many times throughout the word of God.
But there seems to be more envy in the church today than there has ever been. Some of this is due to the ways of the world creeping into our lives. There are so many “shiny objects” that try to catch our attention.
Technology has given rise to so many things that are fun to use and grab our attention. If we’re not careful, we can lust after things and envy those around us who have the latest and the greatest stuff.
There’s also a teaching in the church that has increased envy in the body of Christ. It’s called the prosperity gospel.
The prosperity message infers that God wants us all to be extremely wealthy. It teaches that the word of God shows us how, if our faith is strong, we can do things that will cause money to be attracted to us.
This is heresy. Yes, God wants us to have strong faith. Yes, God wants us to learn to walk by faith in every aspect of our lives. And, no, God doesn’t want us to live in debt or poverty. Debt is a form of slavery.
But no, He does not intend for all of us to walk in some sort of “super faith” that causes money to be attracted to us. Because, in reality, this teaching isn’t really about faith. It’s about presumption and poor choices.
So many times we hear that we should just “take that step of faith” and buy something or make a major decision in our lives, because God can’t bless us if we don’t exhibit faith.
This is dangerous, since it never really teaches the difference between faith and presumption.
Faith causes us to move because God has told us to do so. Presumption will cause us to move and hope that God will clean up the mess if our choice was a mistake, because God had never told us to move to begin with.
Move carefully. Seek God in every choice that is made. We can’t let presumption replace faith.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!
To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page.