I know I may have said this many times before, but I continue to be amazed by the amount if time that the Bible gives to our attitude towards money. Deuteronomy 8 is a great example of that.
Deuteronomy 8:12-14. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18. You may say to yourself, " My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.". But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
The Lord is to be our focus, he is the source of our blessings. Although we may work hard and from that comes material blessings, we must not lose sight that our body and mind come from God - without him we have nothing.
Along wih this theme is Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
And in Mark 12 Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers in verse 30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." When the person who asked him this question agreed and said that it was more important than all burnt offerings Jesus says "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
So, even though Deuteronomy 10:12 makes it sound like not big deal, it's just loving him with all your heart and soul and then you're all set, I have been thinking all day about what does this mean. What does this mean to me today? What does this mean for my tomorrows? What does this mean to the way I raise my kids? What does this mean for how I do my job? What does this mean for how I greet my neighbors? What does it mean for church?
Do I study scripture differently when it's my way of getting to know Him, Him that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I listen differently to sermons on Sunday, which it's lessons on how to live when I love him with all my heart? Do I greet the beggar on the street differently, when he is made in the image of the One that I love with all my heart and strength? Do I behave differently at work, knowing that I am representing the One that I love? Is there any area of my life whatsoever that is the same? Is there any part of the day when I'm not thinking of Him?
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