“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen. 3:19)
Most every person I have ever met works for money, now that may seem like an oversimplified statement, but consider it in light of this verse from Genesis. The Lord God took away the ability of Adam and Eve to eat whatever they wanted to by casting them out of the Garden of Eden, but you must not envision them being sent into a completely total wasteland, without food and water they would not survive for long at all. The ground must have been fertile enough to begin a garden of sorts, but those plants don’t come up overnight.
“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” (Matt. 6:32)
God still provided the opportunity, but now they had to work to stay alive, just as we do, but that life has disappeared completely for many, most have employment of some kind and the wherewithal to purchase enough food not only for that day, but for weeks or even longer. So then, if you have food, raiment and shelter, why do people continue to go to work each day, notwithstanding Luke 12:19, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Or 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”
The most concise reason seems to be found in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Not the money itself, it is of no value in itself, but holds only an agreed upon value for the exchange of it for goods and services. Its value is in the imagined security it provides, in that it brings with it the knowledge that the future will be secure as long as you have money.
Many people on this planet who claim Jesus Christ as Lord in my personal opinion do not trust Him to fulfill His promises to feed them each day unless they get up and go to work. And they will continue to do so until they are very old, no matter if they have an entire warehouse stocked with food, enough for decades, clothing beyond what they could ever outwear, a sturdy strong house that could withstand the years they have left.
For some it is a need to feel needed in society, though they will not admit this truth, for of what value is a person if they do not assist in their community in some form, even if they are financially stable? For most though, and I speak of the saved here, they think if they run out of money they will surely die or be forced to rely on others for their daily bread.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11) And in their mind they hear the Lord say, “No, not unless you go to work.”
Saved and wicked, accept the truth of these words or not, the more money an individual has, the more secure they feel, and the less they think about the need of food and clothing. Ergo, the faith of the saved begins to be associated not only with their money, but the things that they have accumulated with it over the years. “I know Jesus loves me because look at how much money I have, look at the items I own.”
These individuals will be the first in line to offer praise to God, and also the first in line to question His Sovereignty in their lives if He decides to remove all of it from them. They love to repeat Matthew 8:20, “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” But they dare not ask to be placed in the same position.
This is not prosperity theology that I speak of here, if you think it is then you have missed the entire context of this short letter. This is about hating the world and all it has to offer, this is about trusting Christ no matter the circumstances, whether you’re comfortable or not.
I am sure most of you will continue to work, will continue to accumulate financial wealth, will continue to say aloud “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33) While under your breath whispering fears and hopes that He does not remove all that you have. The account of Job is a wonderful example of the grace and mercy of God, we just don’t want to experience it for ourselves.
