Someone asked John D. Rockefeller how much money it would take to satisfy a person. He wisely replied, “Just a little bit more.” Every one of us must be on guard constantly against that greedy, selfish spirit that makes money a god and things the supreme desire of life.
To save us from the slavery of materialism, the Lord commanded us to use our possessions to honor him. Proverbs 3:9-10 reads, “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
If we would begin to obey this command our world would be a vastly better place. The Lord has a perfect right to make this demand of us, for all we have comes from him and belongs to him.
The late Bishop Edwin Hughes once delivered a rousing sermon on “God’s ownership” that put a rich parishioner’s nose out of joint. The wealthy man took the bishop out for lunch and then walked him through his elaborate gardens, woodlands, and farm. “Now, are you going to tell me,” he demanded when the tour was completed, “that all this land does not belong to me?”
Bishop Hughes smiled and suggested, “Ask me that same question a hundred years from now.” Many a Christian boasts that he knows his Bible, even though he never goes to church and gives precious little to relieve human need or suffering. He does not back up his boast with his money.