Snare of money!
Ezra 7:15”…and whereas you (Ezra) are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem..”
God cannot bless butter fingers! If you are allowing money to slip effortlessly through your fingers for extravagant spending, squandering and lavish living, mark it, God cannot trust you with His money! No wonder many well-paid professionals and highly educated, acute businessmen are in debts because they have failed to learn the skills of handling money. Do we ever calculate the money we pay as interest before we plunge hastily into purchasing something on monthly installments? Automobile manufacturers not only manufacture but they have a tie up with several public sector banks to enable to give ‘easy money’ to the buyers. How could the highly educated, elite crowd, so easily fall into the clutches of the ‘EMI trap’ still remain opaque to me! Don’t ever fall for sales gimmicks and glossy advertisements – it is to woo and mesmerize you. Be alert! Handle your finances carefully!
Let me explain the above scripture to you, many may not know about Ezra but I admire him a lot. Artaxerxes a pagan king of Persia, trusted Ezra with enormous gold, silver and many other precious things to be carried to Jerusalem for the House of the Lord. Can I give you the qualifications of Ezra as stated in the Bible? He is mentioned as a priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD and most important, Ezra not only mastered the laws of God but he determined his heart to live according to it. That’s the key to success! Amen. The king also found godly wisdom in Ezra hence he gave the ‘huge plum project’ of leading the people of Israel to Jerusalem along with riches, gold and silver as offerings from king Artaxerxes. Ezra did not use muscle power or seek the services of ‘black cats’ to protect the people of Israel but he fasted and prayed and accomplished the work entrusted to him and safely handed over the riches to the House of God.
If today you are facing severe financial problems and may be without a job, pause today and check out your behavior! Bow your head and ask God to change your reckless attitude towards money. The more money you make, the more famous you become, the more would people fall on you like confetti at a wedding. Watch out, as fast as they come, they would ditch you too! Are you listening friends? The money that you hold in your wallet does not belong to you, remember God gave that to you, check out before you spend.
Every time I step out for a purchase: be it ministry, personal or whatsoever, I never fail to humbly seek God’s guidance. When we seek His will, He would prevent unnecessary drain of money and overspending. After more than a decade of resigning my job and serving the Lord in full-time ministry, I could say today that I am debt-free and live a simple, contented life. It sure needs fierce determination to say ‘no’ to swanky, chic electronic gadgets and hold on to what you have. Never think that pastors and preachers are off the hook from this snare, in fact, the lust for money has affected the church and the Christians more; the desire to excel and be above is the reason for this sadistic zeal, that has trapped many pastors and preachers too into debts. Let us be able to say like Apostle Paul: (Philippians 4:11) “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content..”
