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Material Gods

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  Mark 8:36

 

The Bible does not condemn money or material possessions. Money and possessions can do great good when they are used wisely and kept in proper perspective. Some of the great people of the Bible were very rich. Abraham, Isaac, and Solomon were perhaps the richest men of their day.

God's quarrel is not with material goods but with material gods. Materialism has become the god of too many of us. Our material possessions are elevated to the central place in our lives, and we give them the attention only God deserves.

The Bible teaches that preoccupation with material possessions is a form of idolatry. And God hates idolatry. It poisons every other phase of our lives, including our family life.

The problem, the Bible says, is not with money itself, but with our love of money: "For the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 TImothy 6:10). Don't let money, or anything else, take God's rightful place in your life.

From, HOPE for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, by Billy Graham.