God's Response:
They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won't save them on the day of the Lord's anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up
Ezekiel 7:19
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10
Our Takeaway:
God's people had allowed their love of money to lead them into sin (see Ezekiel 7:19). Money has a strange power over people. In 1 Timothy, Paul said that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." It is ironic that we use money - a gift from God - to buy things that separate us from him. It is tragic that we spend so much seeking to satisfy ourselves and we spend so little to honor God, the source of true satisfaction.
What ways could you use your financial resources to bring yourself and others closer to God?
God's Promise:
A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.
Luke 12:21
Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I am no stranger to the subject of the all mighty Dollar - it consumed me for the majority of my adult life. I always believed in and was influenced by the world around me and the love of the green stuff. As a successful businessman and entrepreneur, I kept up on the world leaders, not political leaders but the guys making all the cabbage. I enjoyed reading and being consumed by publications like Fortune Magazine, Inc Magazine, Forbes, Money, Success, Entrepreneur and anything that spoke about the millionaires, money and successes of the world.
I started Ground Zero with nothing in the Spring of 1997 after being dumped by my employer whom refused to continue to pay me the comfortable six digit salary plus commission I has grow accustomed. I immediately started my own business (Ground Zero Electrostatic, Inc.), in the static control industry and by the year 2007, just Ten years later, I had grown Ground Zero to a multimillion dollar global reach organization. We were featured in and made Florida's Gulf Coast Reviews "Top 500". Ground Zero was one of Florida's top producing and fastest growing companies along the Gulf Coast and Inc Magazine was just around the corner; i could taste it!
Anthony Murfin was also featured in this publication on several occasions as a successful entrepreneur who never took no for a answer and wasn't going to be told that I couldn't do it - boy was I all puffed up over this! So here I was with this unbelievable company knocking down a gigantic salary; completely lost in all the money I was making - I was living the "American Dream"... Riiiiight....
Here's the problem: I was consumed by it, the money was all I cared about and it took precedence over everything - my wife, my children, my family and my life. The only god I was honoring was the all mighty Benjamin Franklin's in my bank account - sad but true.
Plagued with consumerism and the obsession to keep up with the Jone's I had to move into a bigger house, buy a bigger boat, drive a more expensive car, travel to more exotic places, drip with gold and jewelery every time I stepped out of my house. I was convinced that I had to look rich for the world to accept me and the world was where we find our acceptance.
My life was based on the love of money, which resulted in so much chaos and depression in my life. When I had a bad sales week, everyone around me had a bad week and felt the repercussions. I had no where to turn but to all the other things this world offers to the hurting people living in the performance driven fast lane and who are looking for a way out - alcohol, drugs and things that are unimaginable and unspeakable.
Here is the beautiful part - God allowed all this to happen in order to bring brokenness and surrender into my life; in order for me to realize, all the money and riches of the world could never bring lasting acceptance, lasting joy, peace and/or happiness into my life. It wasn't until I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that my eyes were opened and I could see that money and worldly possessions were nothing more then temporary! 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
God very often uses and allows the bad things and bad choices in our lives for His good and ours. After diligently seeking a relationship with God, He blessed me with the realization of my true identity In Christ. One of the truths that He revealed to me was that we never have to portray to be someone that were not to have acceptance. Another beautiful truth that He revealed is that - In the world, what we do determines who we are... but in Christ, who we are determines what we do. 1 John 2:15
It all came together for me when my pastor invited my to a generosity conference about a year ago and the speaker said: "You can't take your money or possessions with you, have you ever seen a Hurst pulling a U-Haul"? Then he said, "you can send your treasures on ahead." Matthew 6:19-21
Through God's amazing work, giving Him all the glory, praise and honor He deserves... God stripped MY company, Ground Zero to the bone, by worldly standards we were insolvent and should have filed for bankruptcy over a year ago... He has now rebuilt HIS company and established a generosity culture for His greater purpose - A Kingdom driven purpose to serve Him and Him alone.
In all this, I now realize that I am one of the richest men walking this planet, riches that are beyond measure - Richness In Christ!
