We Were Born Naked & We Die Naked

The title of this post is based on a radio broadcast I listened to yesterday.  That broadcast was about finances and how we can become slaves to debt and man’s false belief he can store up treasures on this earth.  They were preaching from 1 Timothy Chapter 6.

They also made points about the fact we must be grateful for what the Lord provides. Things we need are usually different then things we want.  Government, Big Business and the misguided masses try to tell us we “need” something because it is “New”, “Improved”, “You can’t live without it”, etc.

We need to stop storing up treasure on earth, as you can’t take any of it with you.  Too many people are more concerned about impressing friends, family, neighbors and co-workers with their expensive “Junk”.  We need to be content with necessities like  shelter, food & clothing;  for “The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Kinds Of Evil”.

Another point was about credit.  Banks make it easy for us to get things we want instead of things we need.  Many of these banks take advantage of the poor by keeping them in debt. That debt can go on for years and years, because of mishandling finances and by banks charging outrageous interest rates and fees.  Many creditors target the poor and are allowed to charge as much interest as they want, so people can never pay them back in a short period time.  These creditors are often referred to as “Predatory Lenders” and some do business as “Pay Day Loan Companies, Title Loan Companies, Poor-Credit Targeted Credit Cards & Installment Loan Companies”. Some states have put interest rate caps on these companies, but those are just on paper. You can easily see these types charging up to 1000% interest on a short-term loan.  These use to be known as “Loan Sharks” when they were illegal.

1 Timothy 6  English Standard Version (ESV)

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

False Teachers and True Contentment
Teach and urge these things.

3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,

4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,

7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Grace be with you.