1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

The more we seek after money and riches, the more likely we will be tempted to do things which are not normal for us or the more we will be willing to take liberties.

This is exactly what the evil one wants – he wants us to fall off the rails and take on a sinful life instead of following Christ; how else can he hope to gain power?

It’s not like we don’t know what is good and what is wrong, but we will be more likely to take on those wrong things in our lives when we are chasing money…

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.

The things which come from God are always good and do not carry burdens with them; this does not mean we will not have any sorrows or burdens!

When we have to do something for God, we may well have to accept the hardships which come with that work – but the hardships come from mankind and not from God!

The earthly wealth we receive in doing work for God is coming from the world – we should be looking at the spiritual wealth we receive from God when doing His will in our lives…

Matthew 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

When Jesus was warning the Scribes and Pharisees about their actions, He also wanted them to understand how different they were on the inside because of their ways.

When we allow the world to encroach on the things we should be doing for God, we are allowing the sinful ways of the world to come before God.

We cannot hope to serve God effectively if we are not willing to have our sinful ways cleansed first of all!