What to Read When…Things Are Going Well

Luke 12:13-21 –Then someone in the crowd told him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But Jesus asked him, “Mister, who appointed me to be a judge or arbitrator over you people?” Then he told them, “Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, because a person’s life doesn’t consist of the amount of possessions he has.” 

  Then he told them a parable. He said, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. So he began to think to himself, ‘What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I’ll store all my grain and goods in them. Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”‘ 

  But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’ That’s how it is with the person who stores up treasures for himself rather than with God.” 

1 Timothy 6:3-19 —If anyone teaches false doctrine and refuses to agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and godly teaching, he is a conceited person and does not understand anything. He has an unhealthy craving for arguments and debates. This produces jealousy, rivalry, slander, evil suspicions, and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit. 

  Of course, godliness with contentment does bring a great profit. Nothing to this world we bring; from it take we nothing. With food to eat and clothes to wear; content we are in everything. But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin. 

  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain. But you, man of God, must flee from all these things. Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 

  Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep holding on to eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses. Since you are in the presence of God, who gives life to everything, and in the presence of the Messiah Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I solemnly charge you to keep these commands stainlessly and blamelessly until the appearance of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. 

  At the right time, he will make him known. God is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen. 

  Tell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good actions, to be generous, and to share. By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future, so that they can keep their hold on the life that is real.

Hebrews 13:5 –Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.” 

James 2:1-17 –My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be tainted by favoritism. Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,”   then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not? 

  Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name by which you have been called? 

  Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators. For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 

  For the one who said, “Never commit adultery,” also said, “Never murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you become a violator of the Law.   You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

  What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.