LIFE & HAPPINESS DO NOT DEPEND ON MONEY

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Attitude Toward Money

a) James and he warns us about money. 

2. Life And Happiness Do Not Depend On Money

a) Our lives are in God's hands. Our lives do not depend upon how much money we have.

James 1:17 
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

b) One of the gifts upon which our lives depend is "wisdom from above". There is an "earthly, sensual, demonic" wisdom that engenders "bitter envy and self-seeking", resulting in "confusion and every evil thing". Heavenly wisdom creates a life "rich in good fruits". Such a life is safe from the lust for earthly and sensual pleasure and power so often associated with the gaining and holding of excessive material wealth.

James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

c) Even life itself is totally dependent upon God's will. 

James 4:13-15
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

d) Paul's teaching runs along the same lines, that the only true gain is in devotion to God, and dependence upon him.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[a] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

2 Corinthians 9:8
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 


The End ...

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