A reflection on wealth
Reflections of the day
Matthew 6:24-25
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.
A reflection on wealth
Our Heavenly Father,
Thou art creator of the world that we live in and thou have created all things known to Man and all things unseen by Man. Thou art a loving Father and a compassionate Father. Thou sent thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ into this world to save us from all our sins and to show us the way to thou.
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, laid down his life for us and that by doing so thou made to us what can be described as the ultimate sacrifice and that the sacrifice thou made for us is one that reveals thou love for us. The love thou have for us is one for each and every one of us, and is a love that is all encompassing, and is a love that is not bound by words, and is a love that is not bound by time and is a love that is not bound by energy. The love thou have for us is one that enables us to love thou with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. The love that thou have for us is one that overspills into all our relationships and the love that thou have for us is one that enables us to love our neighbours.
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that thy Scriptures reveal that during the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ that Our Lord Jesus Christ cared for the poor, and that Our Lord Jesus Christ cared for the needy, and that Our Lord Jesus Christ cared for the vulnerable. We acknowledge that Our Lord Jesus Christ said much about wealth. We acknowledge that wealth is a gift from thou and is a gift that thou have entrusted us to use to carry out thy work with others.
Heavenly Father, we are able to see that thy Scriptures reveal that thou desire us to turn to thou always, and that thou desire us to have a relationship with thou which is right, and that thou desire us to have a relationship with others which is right. We are able to see that a desire to be wealthy and a desire to have possessions beyond what is our need may be one that will cause us to neglect thou, may be one that will cause us to neglect our families and may be one that will cause us to neglect others. We acknowledge that a desire to serve thou and a desire to serve wealth is one that is described as not compatible.
Heavenly Father, it is at this time we ask thou to guide us in our daily life and we ask thou to help us to see that we all have a responsibility towards those who are poor, those who are needy and those who are vulnerable. We hope and pray that those who are blessed with having a wealth that can be described as beyond their need will reflect carefully upon the responsibility that they should share their wealth with the less fortunate.
Heavenly Father, we are able to see that what can be described as a preoccupation with wealth is one that is not desirous and we are able to see that in order to draw closer to thou Man needs to turn his back on thoughts of wealth. Heavenly Father, we desire to be thou obedient servant but know we fall short in thy expectation, we desire to lay down our life for thou but know we are reluctant at times and we desire to be ready to do thou will but know we are rebellious at times.
Heavenly Father, it is at this time, we ask thou to help us to emulate the life of St Lawrence, a man who said the poor and the needy were the treasure of the Church. We hope and pray that many will reflect upon the life of St Lawrence and are able to see that thou art able to provide all our needs and that our treasure is one that is an eternal life with thou, and we ask all of this in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and in the name of thy Holy Spirit, now and always.
Amen.
Posted on April 30, 2012, in charitable giving, church, commendation, conquering evil, corruption, eternal life, love, poverty, putting others first, responsibility, service for others, suffering, The Christian faith, The example of the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, wealth and tagged church, commendation, conquering evil, corruption, eternal life, love, poverty., responsibility, service for others, St Lawrence, suffering, The Christian Faith, the example of the life of Jesus, The Sunday Times Rich List 29 April 2012, wealth. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
I am aware that I have in the past spent too much on goods that are unnecessary for my lifestyle. I pray that I will be guided into purely spending monies on that which is essential and continue with charitable donations as well as help those people, who are in need, to exist in this life. Amen
Many of us are now in a position economically where our spending has been curbed yet our charitable giving has increased and for this we are thankful and ask Our Heavenly Father to continue placing opportunities before us so that we are mindful of the needs of others.