Flee These Things

"Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils... But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:9,10).

One evening, several years ago Carolyn and I were making our way down a mountain trail to a local river, accompanied by a couple of friends. The trail was narrow and wound around a slope with a steep drop on one side and an unclimbable bank on the other side. 

Just as we came around a sharp bend in the trail I looked up to see one of the biggest bears I've ever seen shambling up the trail. He was moseying along, swinging his massive head from side to side and quietly huffing to himself. Believe me, he did not look like Winnie the Pooh!

Fortunately, we were downwind and he didn't detect our presence immediately, but I realized there was simply no place for either of us to go and he would soon be on top of us. 

The friend who was walking behind me spotted the bear and began to rummage around in her pocket for her phone. "Oh, I must get a picture," she said with great excitement.

"Uh, no" I mumbled, being less sanguine about our odds. "We must get out of here." So we backed up until we were out of sight, turned on our heels and fled—cheating death one more time, as the old saying goes.

What would you do if you came round a corner and found yourself facing a dangerous animal? Well, you would flee, of course. (Although, as you know, that's not good advice if you encounter a cougar or a grizzly.) And that's the way we should feel about the passion to get rich. It's not something to dither over for money-love is inherently dangerous. 

There's nothing  wrong with money, of course; it's just a medium of exchange. But those who desire to get rich "fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction"—a fact so obviously true it scarcely needs defending. Consider the tragic, unfulfilled lives of the rich and famous: Money-mad people "can't get no satisfaction," for wealth is only a goad to get more. 

On the other hand, Paul writes, we should pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness and other traits of the god-like life. These attributes don’t occur by accident; they grow in us because we pursue them relentlessly, asking God every day and all through the day to form and shape them within us. This is the means by which we bring the life of the coming age into the present (vs. 12), as I've written before, and secure for ourselves the deep satisfaction that we seek.

David Roper

7.6.19