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be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
(Matthew 6:21-24)
Our intellectual
capacity has both a positive and negative side and we have the privilege of
free will to choose one over the other. The value of choice is the basis of
the free will—thought conveys a perception of right or wrong—the value
for the motivation of a free will.
If your value system is set according to rigid standards, just as the Hebrews
did, your worldly sense or point of view will be forcefully rigid. If you
standards are on wealth, possession, fame and glory according to world’s
standards, you will not be accepting of a deeper truth or the fulfillment of
those traditions.
There must be an alternative that is not rigid a solution, but the solution is
not material wealth! The spiritual bottom line is not profit or return on
investments, because money is would be the focus: “No servant can serve
two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
Money.”
(Luke 16:13
)
Most of the people in the world do not agree or
comprehend the significant difference. Many will give some of their wealth
to God thinking they deserve more for doing this. They give the least to
gain the most and no one, not even they are served in the process? This is
precisely why one must choose and know the difference, because when the
dark spiritual forces influence human behavior money is all too important.
What would it matter if a man gained the whole world to have all the wealth
and riches but lose lost his soul? And by the way, shrouds do not have
pockets!
Consider this perfect example: “The devil took Jesus to the holy city and
had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of
God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command
his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that
you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, ‘It is also
written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Then the devil left
him, and angels came and attended him.”
(Matthew 4:5-7)
Satan thought Jesus was only mere man, and tested Him to find out if He
was the mere man destined to defeat him. That test was for our edification
as well. Satan quoted the scriptures to test Jesus further as if to infer
nothing would harm Him, saying: “He will command his angels concerning
you.”
(Psalm 91:11)
Did Jesus expect the angels to attend to Him, or was he
sufficiently graced to stand toe to toe with Satan without accepting those
temptations? Once again it is obvious Satan considered Jesus to be a mere