Tag: greed

The Quiet Sin That Still Shouts on Black Friday

Brent Pollard

For years, Black Friday earned its reputation not from ledgers but from battlegrounds—retail floors where human dignity took a backseat to door-buster deals. News cameras captured the spectacle: grown men and women trampling one another, wrestling over discounted electronics, shouting with voices hoarse from camping overnight in cold parking lots. The scenes were shocking precisely because they revealed something uncomfortable about ourselves.

Those chaotic stampedes have largely faded, replaced by the quieter click of online carts and the convenience of sales that stretch across entire weeks. Yet we would be naive to assume the spirit behind those frenzies has disappeared. Covetousness has not been conquered; it has merely changed costumes. It still prowls, perhaps more dangerously now because it moves in the shadows of normalcy.

Understanding Covetousness in a Consumer Culture

The Scriptures speak with clarity and force about covetousness. God inscribed it among the Ten Commandments—”You shall not covet” (Exodus 20.17)—placing it alongside murder and adultery as a fundamental breach of divine order. The apostle Paul equates it with idolatry (Colossians 3.5), and Jesus Himself warned that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions (Luke 12.15). These are not casual observations. They are urgent warnings about a sin that destroys souls.

Yet covetousness may well be the most overlooked sin among professing Christians today. We have learned to identify sins that announce themselves—drunkenness carries an odor, anger has volume, and sexual immorality brings scandal. But covetousness? It wears the mask of prudence. It masquerades as ambition, self-care, or simply “keeping up.” In a world built on consumption, covetousness looks like Tuesday afternoon.

This is precisely what makes it lethal. When sin begins to look like normal living, we cease to call it sin at all. If the enemy of our souls seeks to neutralize the church without triggering alarms, covetousness serves as his preferred weapon—quiet, respectable, and devastatingly effective.

The Warning of Jesus: “Take Heed and Beware”

In Luke 12.15, our Lord issues a double warning with deliberate urgency: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness.” Two imperatives, one breath. Why such emphasis? Because Jesus understood what we often forget—that the human heart is perpetually vulnerable to the lie that more will satisfy.

Notice that Christ does not merely say “avoid” covetousness. He says take heed, which means to pay careful, sustained attention, and beware, which calls for active vigilance. This is not passive resistance but intentional, disciplined watchfulness. The implication is sobering: covetousness will not announce itself. It will arrive disguised as legitimate need, reasonable desire, or innocent comparison.

Let us be clear: Black Friday itself is not inherently sinful. Wisdom in stewardship often means seeking good value, and thoughtful purchasing can serve both family and generosity. The issue is not the calendar date or the transaction but the condition of the heart engaging in it. When we participate in the marketplace, do we do so with contentment and purpose, or with the restless craving that can never be filled?

The frenzy that once defined Black Friday—and the subtler compulsions that still drive much of our economic behavior—expose three spiritual dangers we dare not ignore.

Three Spiritual Dangers of Covetousness

Covetousness Normalizes Discontent

God calls His children to contentment (1 Timothy 6.6-8; Hebrews 13.5). Yet covetousness whispers constantly that what we have is insufficient. It trains us to focus not on what we possess but on what we lack. This is not mere pragmatic planning for the future; it is a spiritual disease that robs us of peace and gratitude in the present.

As has been observed, the man who has God and everything else has no more than the man who has God alone. Covetousness blinds us to this truth. It convinces us that one more purchase, one more upgrade, one more experience will finally deliver the satisfaction we seek. But the nature of covetousness is that it never delivers. It only promises.

Consider how advertising works: it manufactures dissatisfaction. Before the ad, you were content. After the ad, you feel incomplete without the product. This is spiritual warfare dressed in marketing language, and it works because our hearts are already fertile ground for discontent.

Covetousness Trains Us to Measure Worth by Possessions

Jesus teaches that life does not consist in the abundance of things (Luke 12.15). Yet covetousness reverses this wisdom, teaching us to evaluate ourselves and others based on what can be seen, touched, and posted online.

Someone seeking material possessions only creates for themselves a gilded prison. When our identity becomes intertwined with our acquisitions, we trap ourselves in an exhausting cycle of comparison and competition. We measure our worth not by God’s declaration of value through Christ but by fluctuating market standards.

This is practical idolatry. The accumulation of things becomes not merely a means to life but the meaning of life itself. And when this happens, we have exchanged the Creator for created things—precisely what Paul condemns in Romans 1.25.

Covetousness Weakens Our Gratitude

Perhaps nothing reveals the corrosive effect of covetousness more clearly than its assault on thanksgiving. The covetous heart cannot truly give thanks because it is perpetually focused on what it does not yet have. Gratitude looks backward and upward, recognizing God’s provision. Covetousness looks forward and laterally, cataloging deficiencies and envying neighbors.

This is why the day after Thanksgiving can be so spiritually jarring. One day we gather to express thanks for God’s blessings; the next, we rush to acquire more as if what we have is inadequate. The irony should not escape us. Covetousness turns thanksgiving into hypocrisy.

Fighting Covetousness With Eternal Treasure

How then do we fight? Not by suppressing desire—God created us with the capacity to want, to long, to pursue. The battle against covetousness is not won by desiring less but by desiring better things.

Jesus provides the antidote in Matthew 6.19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

This is not poetry; it is economics. Jesus is telling us to invest wisely. Earth’s treasures decay, disappoint, and ultimately disintegrate. Heaven’s treasures endure. The question is not whether we will treasure something—we cannot avoid doing so—but what we will treasure and where.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Covetousness is defeated not when we grit our teeth and endure deprivation but when we discover a satisfaction so profound that lesser things lose their grip. When Christ becomes our treasure, sales and upgrades and status symbols fade into their proper insignificance.

If we covet trivialities, it is because we have not yet tasted the goodness of God. We chase shadows because we have not yet stood in the light.

Practical Steps to Guard Against Covetousness

All truth must become actionable or it remains mere information. What then shall we do?

First, practice intentional gratitude. Before making any significant purchase, pause to list what God has already provided. This simple discipline reorients the heart from scarcity to abundance.

Second, examine your motives. Ask: Am I buying this because I need it, or because I want what someone else has? Am I seeking to fill a legitimate need, or am I trying to fill a spiritual void with material things?

Third, give generously. Nothing breaks the power of covetousness faster than open-handed generosity. When we give, we declare that God—not possessions—is our source and security.

Fourth, fast from consumption. Consider seasons of deliberate simplicity. Skip sales. Avoid browsing. Create space to discover that you already have enough.

Fifth, redirect your desires. Cultivate hunger for spiritual realities—Scripture, prayer, fellowship, service. Feed your soul the bread of life so that the world’s junk food loses its appeal.

The Greatest Bargain Ever Offered

Black Friday will come and go with its sales, advertisements, and temptations. The receipts will fade, the products will break, and the cycle will repeat. But the danger of covetousness remains, not just on one day but every day we draw breath in this consumer culture.

Yet hear the good news: The greatest bargain ever offered is still available, and it requires no credit card. A life emptied of covetousness and filled with Christ is a life money cannot buy. This treasure is free to all who will receive it, paid for not by our purchasing power but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

God offers us satisfaction that lasts, joy that endures, and treasure that neither moth nor rust can destroy. The transaction is complete. The price is paid. The only question is whether we will stop chasing shadows long enough to embrace the substance.

May we be a people who treasure Christ above all things, who find in Him a satisfaction so complete that the world’s bargains become irrelevant. For in Him we have already received everything—and what we have cannot be improved by any sale, upgraded by any purchase, or diminished by any economy.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Choose wisely.

“May Your Silver Perish With You”

Neal Pollard

Brian Castner has written an excellent book called Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike. In it, he chronicles the history of the gold rush to Alaska that occurred at the turn of 20th Century. There had been an economic depression in the 1890s that was just starting to lift around the time reports came out of the Klondike that people were striking it rich way up north. Castner tells of disease, death, and dismemberment from typhoid fever, violence in cities like Skagway and Dawson City and on White Pass and Chilkoot Trails, avalanches, exposure, starvation, and drownings in the white water rapids of Lake Bennett. They called it “gold fever” because men (and women) with no experience with the elements and no real plan threw all caution and common sense to the wind in order to strike it rich. The overwhelming majority of them wound up broke and broken. 

Peter told a new Christian, “May your silver perish with you” (Acts 8:20). You may remember that Simon the sorcerer was a big shot in Samaria before the traveling missionary, Philip, came to town with the transforming message of Christ. The gospel turned the heads of men and women, including Simon (12-13). Peter and John come from Jerusalem to impart the miraculous gifts of the Spirit on the new Christians, and Simon was tempted by his past when he saw this (18-19). Did he see this power as a cash cow or a way to build his already renowned reputation as “someone great” (9-10). Part of his sin was the abuse of his money. 

There is more than one way that our “silver” may “perish” with us.

  • Loving it (1 Tim. 6:10).
  • Making it the stuff life is made of (Luke 12:15).
  • Storing it up for ourselves and not being rich toward God (Luke 12:21; Mat. 6:19-21).
  • Making it an idol (Psalm 115:4).
  • Being greedy (Col. 3:5).
  • Trying to find satisfaction by it (Ecc. 5:10). 
  • Letting it motivate us to do wrong (Amos 2:8; Mic. 3:11; Mat. 26:14ff).
  • Choosing it over wisdom (Prov. 16:16). 

It is said several ways, but God is trying to ensure our spiritual survival. He knows that wealth can become our god when it drives us or becomes our central purpose. He knows that not only is that futile and unsatisfying, but He also knows how destructive such desire is for the other people in the lives of those who are suffering from “gold fever.” Paul describes it vividly, saying, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:9-10). Let’s not perish with our silver or with an unholy pursuit of it! 

How One Man Was Conquered By Sin

Neal Pollard

He’s introduced to us right after the end of the stunning victory at Jericho (Josh. 7:1). He is from the same tribe that the Messiah would hail from. Three other ancestors besides Judah are named, and they are roughly laid out for us in 1 Chronicles 2:3-7. Achan lives in infamy as “the troubler of Israel” (1 Chron. 2:7). A man who stood shoulder to shoulder with the conquerors of Jericho, whose voice was no doubt heard shouting along with everyone else (6:20), and whose sword dealt destructive blows to the inhabitants (6:21), had made a fateful stop somewhere inside the city amidst the rout. It was a detour that would not only change his life, but the life of his family (25) and the lives of at least 36 other families (5). His sin dragged down an entire nation, at least for a little while.

We’re not told if Achan put together his sin and the downfall of Israel in their first battle with Ai. Yet, when Joshua begins the process by taking lots to discover the culprit (14-15), he had to feel the noose tightening. Finally, when he is exposed as the one who “took some of the things under the ban” (1), Joshua speaks in a surprisingly gentle and compassionate tone as he tells Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me” (19). After the battle, he had the opportunity to immediately come clean and tell Joshua what he had done. Anytime between Jericho and Ai, he might have been led by a pricked conscience to unburden himself and repent. Not until the divinely-led process when he was undeniably found guilty did Achan confess his sin. It is then that Joshua, Israel, and the reader learn how Achan had been “conquered.”

“I saw” (21). My mom used to sing the devotional song with us, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.” How many times have our eyes been the gateway to sin and trouble in our lives. The text doesn’t even say he was searching, but at some point his eyes rested on the spoil and he saw a beautiful robe, some silver and a wedge of gold. He found it irresistible. This was Eve’s problem (Gen. 3:6) and David’s (2 Sam. 11:2). In discussing sinful desire for material things, Jesus would reveal how the eye is the lamp of the body (Mat. 6:22-23). Achan’s eye was “bad.” Be careful to say with the Psalmist, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Ps. 101:3).

“I coveted” (21). This was the tenth commandment in the Law of Moses (Exo. 20:17; Deu. 5:21). It is also repeatedly condemned in the New Testament (Eph. 5:3,5). To covet is to desire, bringing damage upon the thing or person desired, and to take pleasure in (HAL). It’s a passionate desire, but, here and in the prohibition of the Law, it is an unholy desire for what is not one’s own. It leads to theft, adultery, and other sins where unholy desire leads to unholy action. Achan’s heart was conquered by unrighteous desires. How many lives have been overturned and destroyed by this?

“I took” (21). The progression went from eyes to heart to hands. Sin is progressively destructive. James 1:13-15 compares it to a macabre birth process, where temptation leads to lust which when conceived gives birth to sin. Sin, unchecked, leads to death (cf. Rom. 6:23). How did Achan justify transgressing the explicit warning Joshua made prior to Jericho, “But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord” (6:18-19)? Somehow, he rationalized, justified, and convinced himself it was OK. One of the most sobering precepts of all Scripture, to me, is, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD weighs the motives” (Prov. 16:2). Similar to it is, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes,

But the LORD weighs the hearts” (Prov. 21:2). I’ve not known very many gossips, slanderers, liars, sexually immoral, drunkards, deceivers, troublemakers, sinfully angry, or the like who saw themselves as dirty and wrong.  Yet, however we see ourselves, God sets His all-seeing eyes on our motives and hearts. He is looking with perfect perspective at our “ways” (our actions). Ultimately, whether we repent or face judgment, those actions will be correctly measured by the all-knowing Lord. 

“I concealed” (21). It’s obvious that Achan understands, in his heart of hearts, that he’s done something wrong. Sin loves darkness and cover. Achan hasn’t really thought this through. Where would he spend the gold and silver? Where would he wear his fancy robe? Who would he sell it to and how would he explain his new-found wealth. When lust and temptation are in the driver’s seat, thoughts of consequences are shoved aside. The anticipated pleasure is tainted or replaced with the need to hide. Ask Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:7-8). 

At the end of the day, Achan, his children, his livestock, his tent, and all his possessions lay buried beneath a pile of stones in a place appropriately nicknamed “the valley of trouble” (26). It was an infamous memorial, a tribute to the fruit of sin. The advertisements don’t talk about this part of enticement. The promise of satisfaction gives way to the punishment of senselessness. It is so important for us to have the foresight God has given us in Scripture. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25). If he could be heard, Achan would say “Amen.” Thank God for giving us this example to keep us from such an end! 

Much Better To Listen And Obey

Neal Pollard

God has a straightforward task for Saul in 1 Samuel 15. As a consequence for their opposition to Israel as they are fleeing Egypt in the battle where Aaron and Hur hold up Moses’ arm as Joshua leads the battle (Ex. 17:8-16), Amalek was devoted for destruction by God (Deut. 25:17-19)(1 Sam. 15:1-3). God is not ambiguous. He says “devote to destruction all they have” (3) and “do not spare them” whether man, woman, child, infant, or livestock (3). 

Saul is given the task of carrying out that total annihilation. He amasses a huge army of 210,000 soldiers and sets out against Amalek (4). After warning the Kenites (5-6; Num. 10:29-32) among the Amalekites to leave or die, Saul and his army thoroughly defeat this enemy (7). Up to this point, Saul’s effort has been nothing but a success!

However, Saul decides to do things the way he thinks is best. While he kills all the people as God instructs, “Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction” (9). God commanded Saul and he “would not” do it.

Samuel records some pretty chilling words regarding His choice of Saul. God says, “I regret that I made Saul king” (11,35). This is very similar to what God said about humanity in Noah’s day (Gen. 6:6-7). The text reveals several factors that led to God’s grief. 

  • Saul turned back from following God (11)–He followed what he wanted to do
  • Saul had not performed God’s commandments (11)–He neglected or omitted what God instructed
  • Saul blamed his followers for this sin (15,21)–He left out his part as decision-maker and pinned it on the people
  • Saul forgot his humble roots (17)–He allowed his position to go to his head
  • Saul was disobedient (19)–This was at the very core of Saul’s issues
  • Saul was greedy (19)–He pounced on the spoil
  • Saul had no fear of God (19)–He did evil in the very sight of Him
  • Saul rationalized (20-21)–He claimed to have done what God said except for the “best of the spoil” in order to sacrifice them to God; He reasoned that it was OK since his motives, he claimed, were right.
  • Saul feared the people and listened to them (24)–He got things backward!

But, that is when Samuel delivers the well-known, oft-quoted response to Saul. He tells the king, ““Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (22-23). What was going through Saul’s mind? Whatever it specifically was, he decided his way was better than the way God commanded him to go. 

God’s attitude toward such a spirit and mindset is crystal clear. God rejects it! It’s obvious that Saul knew what he was doing. His confession of sin reflects he completely understood what he had done wrong (24-25), but he still feels more concerned about his image with the people than his integrity before God (25,30). He falls at Samuel’s feet and tears the prophet’s robe, and Samuel tells him that symbolized how the kingdom has been torn away from him and his descendants (27-29). Samuel tells him he cannot and he will not keep up appearances for Saul’s sake, but he does follow Saul back to the people so that he can finish the job Saul had not done. He kills Agag (32-34). Then, he leaves Saul never to see him again (35). Samuel was far from hard-hearted, but instead grieved over how Saul had turned out.

It is dangerous for us to put question marks where God has put periods and exclamation marks. We have no right to make right what God has clearly deemed wrong, and we’re wrong to make wrong what God has not forbidden. Saul put himself in God’s place and thereby placed himself in spiritual danger. Perhaps worst of all is behaving in such a way that God regrets choosing to use us to accomplish His will because we would not trust and obey! We can always be sure that what God says is right and only His way is the way to go. In case we lose sight of that, we help ourselves by reviewing the sad case of Saul! “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (22).

How To Avoid Defrauding Deity

Neal Pollard

At the end of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi simply asked, “Will a man rob God?” (3:8). Now that’s not a thought that naturally occurs to most. It would seem impossible to take by force what belongs to an all-powerful, all-knowing Being. Knowing about His supernatural nature, who would dare to try? Especially when you read that those who do so are  “cursed by a curse” by the One we just described (3:9). But Malachi said they robbed God in “tithes and offerings.” When it came to their financial giving, they stole from the Sovereign!

Is it possible to do that today? Wouldn’t we want to steer so far away from such a practice? Consider:

  • We rob God when we put our giving to Him anywhere but the top of our priorities. Malachi’s peers gave God the blind, the lame and the sick, which they would not dare offer their governor, for sacrifice (1:8). God calls this “evil.” What about when we put bills, entertainment, and other spending and saving first, then give God what, if any, is left over. Under the first covenant, God commanded His people give Him “the first fruits” (Ex. 23:16,19). But that covenant is inferior to what we have in Christ (Heb. 8:6). This should motivate us to make giving a “first fruit” and not an after thought.
  • We rob God when giving is a duty rather than a delight. For Malachi’s brethren, offering to God was described as despised, tiresome, and disdainful (1:13). When it came time to give, apparently they had a grimace rather than a grin on their faces. The God who gave them everything was met by a people who begrudged giving back to Him anything. Later, God will teach us that giving begins in the heart, with ourselves. Paul praises the impoverished Macedonians who exceeded expectations (2 Cor. 8:3) in their giving because they first gave themselves to the Lord, then gave their money to His work (2 Cor. 8:5). Paul could characterize them as cheerful givers (2 Cor. 9:7). This was not because they were prosperous and gave a big contribution from the overflow. Their wealth was their generosity (2 Cor. 8:2). They gave beyond their ability and it made them happy to do so. 
  • We rob God when do not test Him with our giving. This is an unexpected admonition. God wanted a chance to show them what He does for the one who gives sacrificially and by faith. The principle does not work and is inconsistent with God’s will if we do not test Him by giving sacrificially and generously. God says, “test me now in this” (3:10). Give generously and see “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows” (3:10). In light of how we can see God work like this in our lives, why would we take that opportunity from Him to show His incredible power. He always proves that He cannot be out-given.

We may ask, “How much should I give?” Truly, there is no set percentage stipulated under Christ’s covenant. They gave a tenth of everything they owned under the Old Law (Deut. 14, 26). What we have is better! We do not have to bring sacrifices for our sins year after year. Christ sacrificed Himself once for all (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:18)! It’s hard to imagine a Jew, accustomed to giving a tenth, coming up out of the mikvah (baptistery) on Pentecost, forgiven of their sins, and rejoicing, “Now that I’m a Christian, I don’t have to give ten percent any more!” 

No, God doesn’t give us estimates or projections. He gives us exhortations and principles. He wants us to give to Him out of our trust in His care and out of our love and appreciation for His gifts to us. When we take inventory of that (and start with Calvary!), we will learn to give the way He wants us to give. 

Give Like Jesus

Neal Pollard

When we think about Jesus and material possessions, perhaps we think of passages like Luke 8:3 that tell us He lived from the financial support of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others. Or His own words: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Jesus lived humbly. Despite this, how often do we reflect on Jesus’ giving?

  • He gave Himself. Scripture says this explicitly in several places. He gave Himself “for our sins” (Gal. 1:4;). He gave Himself “for me” (Gal. 2:20). He gave Himself “for us” (Eph. 5:2; Ti. 2:14). He gave Himself for the church (Eph. 5:25). He gave Himself “for all” (1 Tim. 2:6). No matter how you look at the cross, it must be described in terms of His giving. This gift was the most significant act of all history. The writer of Hebrews says “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). Isn’t it interesting that Paul praises the unexpected generosity of the Macedonian givers, in part, by saying “they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8:5). Gracious, generous giving is impossible without our first giving ourselves to God. Submitting ourselves to Him in utter dependency, yielding our will and desires, is a prerequisite for Christlike giving.
  • He found it more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). This was His mentality and outlook. His default position was doing for others, not having others do for Him (Mat. 20:28). Paul, speaking with the Ephesian elders, reflects back on this character trait of Jesus, saying, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” What is Paul talking about? In the context, he is talking about material things like gold, silver, and clothing (33), material needs (34), and helping the weak by working hard (35). He’s not referring to the Sunday collection (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2), but an attitude of heart instead. Again, the Macedonians embodied this attitude. Paul is still speaking of them when he writes, “Each one must do as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). We should grow to the point where it brings us joy to give to God. Isn’t that how Jesus gave Himself for us? Study Hebrews 12:1-3 closely!
  • He gave with grace (2 Cor. 8:9). Most lexical definitions of “grace” include the word “gift,” “favor,” and “benefit.” These are undoubtedly giving terms and, when Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians 8:9, a financial term. Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” He ties Christ’s gracious giving to his admonition that Corinth be gracious givers, too. He urges them to complete this gracious work (6), to abound in this gracious work (7), and co-participate in this gracious work (19-20). For Jesus, grace meant giving up something to meet the needs of others. For us, gracious giving means giving up something to supply the needs of others. Like with Jesus, we prove the sincerity of our love by gracious giving (8).

Should we give out of duty and obligation? Not entirely and certainly not primarily. Should we give out of gratitude? That’s certainly better than guilt. How about giving out of an effort to imitate our Savior? When we are giving, it is not merely “to the church.” It is giving to the head of the church, the one who gave everything to purchase it (Acts 20:28). Remarkably, sacrificial giving is a tangible, explicit way for us to give like Jesus. Could there be a stronger motivation?

The Tie That Binds

Tuesday Column: Dale Mail

image-e1601983688162

Dale Pollard

When it comes to the families that make up the church, what ties us together is a common bright future. While every family has its differences, one constant remains— the church. All strive to follow those guidelines laid out in scripture. Paul says in Philippians 1:6, “And I’m SURE of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” 

The writer speaks with assurance and that confidence is well-placed. From His-story we see that God always completes His projects. He never dreams, He creates. He decided to create the world and here it is. He decided to save the world, and here we are. 

Paul also would write in Romans 7-8 that the flesh tends to get in the way of the spiritual. God is perfect, but we’re not. That’s what makes us a work in progress. Aren’t we thankful that God provides the solutions to “fix” us up? 

We’re involved in a great work because there simply is no better work  than what is being done by His church. That being said, many of us struggle with overcomplicating things. We try to make sense of our individual lives, and when we leave God out it all becomes a discouraging battle. Where’s the peace? Joy? Confidence? Maybe it was left behind when we left God’s path. Thankfully God came down to earth years ago to teach us everything we need to know. We see that in His interactions with people. Even His twelve original followers were an odd group. 

Each had a diverse background. Some were Fishermen and some tax collectors. 

Each one had a unique personality too! They ranged from timid to assertive.

Each one had spiritual battles from greed to crippling doubt.  

Yet each one rallied under His leadership and were united through a common hope. 

What’s changed? Not much. 

The personalities, talents, backgrounds, and flaws mixed together create a unique blend that make up each one of us. Yet, here we are rallied under His leadership, united in common hope. 

Members of the church in the Bowling Green area at an FCA fundraiser.

Distracted And Delayed By Baggage

Neal Pollard

On May 7, Bill McGee wrote in a USA Today article about the crashed Aeroflot plane that killed 41 of the passengers onboard: “Reports from people on the plane indicate the evacuation may have been slowed by passengers grabbing their bags. Videos show passengers taking their carry-on bags with them as they exited the plane,” the AFA said in a statement. “We will never know if more lives could have been saved if the bags were left behind” (online edition, “Were lives lost at the cost of carry-ons in Aeroflot plane crash that killed 41?”).  It’s outrageous and unbelievable that people would care more for their luggage than human lives, but that appears to be the case.

In Luke 12:15, Jesus taught, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” The NASB translates the first part of the verse, saying, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed….” Watching video footage of those passengers making an emergency exit with carry-ons in hand is a rather graphic, unmistakeable illustration of Jesus’ point. Unfortunately, we can have a harder time seeing ourselves doing the same thing in the prioritization of our lives. We may be aghast at the thought that their seemingly greedy decision came at the expense of some people behind them being able to escape the flames, but Scripture teaches the devastating effect greed can have on our own lives and the lives of those we influence.

Paul teaches that such can be a “snare,” “harmful desires,” plunging men into “ruin and destruction” that pierces them “with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:9-10). It’s interesting that Paul’s inspired counsel is to “flee from these things” (11). We should consider that an inordinate desire and pursuit of material things may hurt not only ourselves, but the people that come along behind us. That includes our children, grandchildren, and the other people who are guided by our influence and example. They are watching what we value most and what has our greatest attention and affection. We may not be caught on camera, but God sees it with perfect, all-seeing eyes. 

Let’s be careful not to allow this world to cloud our judgment, making the things of this world more important than souls or the will of the Lord. The stakes are higher than whether we exit an airplane alive. It’s about how we leave this world and enter the next one.

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CHECK THOSE LOTTERY NUMBERS CLOSELY!

Neal Pollard

Today, we are finding out that three winning lottery tickets were sold in the record-setting Powerball jackpot, one in California, one in Florida, and one in Tennessee. Each ticket is worth $528.8 million dollars. That’s an attention-getting number.  Here are a few more.  $70.1 billion dollars, the amount Americans spend on lottery tickets every year (more than Americans spend on sports tickets, books, video games, movies, and music combined). $755. That’s the average per-capita spend on lottery tickets in South Dakota. $800. That’s the per-capita spend in Rhode Island, who holds the ignominious distinction of leading the nation in this category. $230. That’s the per-capita average spend of every man, woman, and child in the 43 states where the lottery is played. One-third and one-half.  The poorest third of households buy half of all lottery tickets (statistics via theatlantic.com, Derek Thompson, “Lotteries: America’s $70 Billion Shame”).

Newscasters often report on these jackpots and encourage viewers to “check the numbers.” Lottery commercials often vie with beer commercials as some of the more humorous, clever ones to be seen. In the media and public venues, lottery ticket purchasing is usually portrayed as a harmless, even exciting, diversion. Perhaps many have failed to look more closely at what these other numbers mean for a person’s ethics and morality.

John A. Hobson, in the January 1905 edition of International Journal of Ethics, examined “The Ethics Of Gambling.” In an examination of gambling, including lottery contests, Hobson observes:

Gambling involves the denial of all system in the appointment
of property: it plunges the mind in a world of anarchy where
things come upon one, and pass from one miraculously. It does
not so manifestly sin against the canons of justice as do other
bad modes of transfer, theft, fraud, sweating (sic.), for every one
is said to have an equal chance; but it inflicts a graver damage
on the intellect. Based as it is on an organised rejection of all
reason as a factor, it removes its devotees into a positive atmosphere
of miracles, and generates an emotional excitement that inhibits
those checks which reason more or less contrives to place upon
emotional extravagances. The essence of gambling consists in
an abandonment of reason, an inhibition of the factors of human
control (Vol. 15, No. 2, 138).

Hobson was looking at the underlying psyche of those so eager to gain as much as possible while exerting as little effort as possible. But he decries more than laziness. He puts his finger on the most dangerous aspect of things like playing the lottery—the Bible calls it “covetousness.” It is an irrational, often compulsive, attempt to obtain wealth.

The BDAG lexicon defines the covetous person as “one who desires to have more than is due, a greedy person, whose ways are judged to be extremely sinful by Christians and many others. In Hellenic society this was a violation of the basic principle of proportion and contrary to the idea of beneficent concern for the citizenry” (Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature 2000 : n. pag. Print.). Greed is not confined to practices like playing the lottery, but it is legitimate for one to ask what motivates their play?

What is clear is what Scripture says about covetousness: it prevents one’s inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10), it is idolatry which again prevents inheriting this kingdom (Eph. 5:5), it is a failure to love one’s neighbor (Rom. 13:9), and it is a defilement of the heart (Mark 7:22). Let’s make sure that greed and covetousness do not “have our number.”

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“WINNING THE LOTTERY”

Neal Pollard

One of the most recent lottery winners, Jesus Davila, Jr., has an interesting backstory.  He once spent 12 years behind bars for the manufacturing and selling of cocaine, a felony.  This week, he claimed $127 million after taxes.  Sounds like a rags to riches kind of story, doesn’t it?  It is interesting, and not a little sad, to read about some past winners of the lottery:

  • Ibi Roncaioli was murdered by her husband after giving $2 million of her $5 million dollar prize to a secret child she’d had with another man (businessinsider.com).
  • Evelyn Adams won twice, in 1985 and 1986, winning a total of $5.4 million. She gambled it away in Atlantic City and lives in a trailer park today (ibid.).
  • Willie Hurt won $3.1 million in 1989, but spent it all on a horrible crack addiction, divorced his wife, lost custody of his children, and was charged with attempted murder (ibid.).
  • Victoria Zell won $11 million in 2001, but went to prison convicted of a drug and alcohol-induced car collision that killed one and paralyzed another (theatlantic.com).
  • Abraham Shakespeare won $31 million in 2006. He disappeared in 2009, after having spent most of his fortune. He was found under a concrete slab in 2010, a woman accused of fleecing him for nearly $2 million charged with his murder (ibid.).
  • Jack Whittaker, already wealthy when he won $314 million in 2002, suffered too many calamities to mention here, but they include the death of his granddaughter and daughter and being sued for writing bounced checks to casinos. He was quoted as saying, “I wish I’d torn that ticket up” (ibid.).
  • Bud Post won $16.2 million, but squandered it.  His brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to try and kill him. He died of respiratory failure in 2006, living on $450 a month and food stamps. He once said, “I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare” (cleveland.com).
  • Jeffrey Dampier won $20 million in 1996. In 2005, he was kidnapped, robbed and murdered by his sister-in-law and her boyfriend (ibid.).

To say there are mountains of additional, equally pitiful stories is to understate the matter.  Certainly, not every one who wins the lottery winds up on skid row or in the morgue because of it.  Yet, neither is it the panacea one might believe it to be.  How many others, who can ill afford to play, squander money on a regular basis in the hopes of striking it rich?  The overwhelming majority will never achieve that, but even many that do wind up worse than before they won.

In the ever-elusive search for happiness and satisfaction, mankind will come up empty when looking to material things for the answer.  Jesus taught that it’s a hollow pursuit (Mat. 6:19).  Paul says not “to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).  Jesus warned that your life does not consist of your possessions, even if you have an abundance of them (Lk. 12:15).  The good news is that there is a true treasure, one that never disappoints, that never depletes, and will never go away.  Peter calls it “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…” (1 Pet. 1:4).  Strive to “win” that!

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