The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-05-27

Most people find money a fas-
cinating subject: and Christians
are no exception. Yet it is
strange that so many Christians
never think about money from
a Christian point of view. You
may set this down for a fact:
If a Christian takes precisely the
same attitude to money as is
taken by most persons who make
no claim to religion, then his
Christianity is sorely missing at
that point.
Slaves of Money
In a few sentences from the
Sermon on the Mount we can
get, not all of what Jesus taught
about money in relation to the
Christians life, but some of the
main points. "You cannot be
slaves Of God and money!" he
said. THAT is a literal transla-
ton of the Greek sentence at the
end of Matt. 6:24) Very few
people worship or serve carved
idols. Gods chief rival for mans
allegiance is not some gold
plated idol from the primitive
world, it is money. What you
think most Of. what you think
most about. what you work for,
what you depend on. what you
treasure about anything else
that is your God, that is your
master. that is your reason for
living, in that you put your hope.
Jesus says it can't be God AND
money, it is God OR money.
Jesus does not say you cannot
serve God with money, or that
if you serve God you must not
have any money. He says you
cannot belong to God and belong
to money at the same time. tLet
the reader think: What are the
signs of becoming a slave of
money?\
You Can't Take 1t With You
Every knows you can't
take money with you out of this
world. Japanese coins are no
good in America except as SOU
venirS. But the coin of no realm
is any good in heaven, not even
for souvenirs. Jesus told a para
BILE of a rich farmer whose crops
were 50 fine that his barns would
not hold them. So he planned
to build bigger barns. He gave
no thought of what he might do
with his wealth to help other
people, only to help himself. And
one night God sent for his soul
so then he discovered that
his soul was poor. It did not
even have credit. He was not
"rich toward God" that is,
from Gods viewpoint he had
nothing to his name.
That's a thing Christians ought
always to r e m m Der about
money It's value to a man is
only temporary. It isn't true that
you'll be long time dead" It's
more true that you'll live enor-
mously longer, in a world where
money is no good. than you can
ever live in this moneyed planet.
Your Father Knows
| Another hing Jesus said
speaking of property of differ
ent kinds Your heavenly
Father knows that you need
them all" He was not speaking
Of luxurieS. but Of necessities
There are religions in which
holy" men go about with beg
ging bowls. depending all their
lives long on handouts from the
presumably, unholy wage-earn-
erS. Christianity is not that kind
of religion. Refusal to earn a
living in ordinary ways is not a
mark of holiness in the Bible.
and it is not with us. But there
is a difference between earning
the things that are needed to suS-
tain our lives. and living for
these things alone.
Seek the Kingdom
When a man is writing, his
mind is not on his pen. it's on
| what he is saying. When man
| is walking. he is not conscious
| of his shoes. or ought not to be.
Pen and shoes are necessary.
but they are means. tools, ser
wants not masters. So it should
be with money and the Christian.
It is a means to an end .
But to what end? Some readers
wish Jesus had gone into more
detail. What should be my cen
trail aim in life? Serving Cod
to be sure, but how? Can he be
served by everybody or only by
preachers. while the rest of us
have to struggle for "Mammon
the best we can?
Jesus limited at the answer to
| this question. Seek first the King
dom Of God, he said. set your
heart on it, as j. B. Phillips
translates it. That is, whatever
we do, whatever our occupation.
trade or profession, our first aim
should be to do 1t in line with
the will Of God.
BASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-
cation, National Council Of the
Churches Of Christ in the u. S. A.
Released by Community Press