HOW MUCH?

1 Timothy 6:10 AMPC

For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.

 

When it comes to life, we think of things that are important and things that aren’t; things that matter and things that don't; things that have value and things without. Well, life is one or the other: do or don’t, can or can't, yes or no, life or death. Only one of these two.

How much money is just enough? How much is more than too much? How much is too little? How much do you need to sustain yourself daily, weekly, monthly or yearly? How much do you need to have before you think that you are wealthy or established or well-to-do? How much is a person's worth based on? Or how much are you worth? How much is your life worth?

How much is it? That’s a starter question when we’re transacting.

There are three prominent instances in the scriptures where money played a big role. The first one was the life of Joseph, where his brothers sold him for a pittance: 20 pieces of silver in Genesis 37. Well, we weren't told what they did with that money, but their lives didn't turn out to be greater than Joseph's. If it was, they wouldn't have had to come to Egypt at some point to buy grain, and they wouldn’t have eventually submitted to him. So how much was 20 pieces of silver to them? 

What difference did it make in their lives? And what difference did it make in Joseph's life? Because we know from Joseph's story, he went on to be a great man of God. Compared to his brothers, the 20 pieces of silver gave Joseph more worth than it gave his brothers. If they were going to split that money among themselves, well, I don't know how far or how much that money would have meant for eleven brothers.

And then we come to Samson in Judges 16. That story is just as puzzling as it is amazing. Let's not talk about all his faults and everything. Let's talk about the fact that the 5,500 silver coins Delilah was going to get from the five kings wouldn’t make her a millionaire. How far will 5,500 pounds go? What will it get you? Is someone's life worth it? Is your life worth this? Would you sell out a brother, a sister, a friend for 5,500 pounds? How far will it go? Because in today's value, that’s peanuts. But that was what Samson's life was worth to Delilah and the five kings. They paid that money just to do evil. They paid that money to get back at Samson. They paid that money to take out what they thought was the competition or the threat or the enemy or whatever you want to call him. They paid for it. 

And then Delilah herself was willing to accept that money to betray her lover. She took that money, for what? Maybe to advance herself, to make herself a worthy woman, because that would have been a lot of money in her days. To lord it over other women. What exactly was her purpose in accepting that payout? Well, we'll never know.

But then let's come to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for no reason other than the love He has for us, was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Thirty pieces of silver was what the precious blood of Christ was worth, that His own friend, Judas, sold Him out for in Matthew 26:47-56. 

We see all the time that the church is full of unbelieving believers or Christians who are just churchgoers, benchwarmers. Yes, that was Judas. So those of them in church who are not born again are Judas' brothers and sisters. He was part of Jesus’ club. He was part of His main guys. He was part of His leadership team, the managing team or trustee, or whatever else you want to call him. 

So, did Jesus not know who Judas was? Of course He knew. But He allowed him so that the scriptures could be fulfilled. He allowed Judas to remain there.

But 30 pieces of silver? How much is your life worth? Think about it. Nothing! Because the precious blood of Jesus paid for your life. So, there's no amount of money that can pay for life.

Regardless of how much we all individually think about, remember that the precious blood of Jesus Christ is way above value. There's no earthly amount that can pay for it. And that's what He paid to redeem you and me. So, bask in that.

When you decide to walk away from God, when you decide to do your own thing, ask yourself, how much is your life worth? So you know the cost of what's going on.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

        - If someone were going to sell you out, how much would they put on your head? 

        - How much would be enough to sell out a loved one, a friend, or colleague? 

        - Have you sold Christ for a positive or negative coin? Do you recall how? 

        - Have you ever been sold out? How did it make you feel? 

PRAYER: Father God, help me to never put money above life and integrity. Help me to be mindful that money can be a blessing but the love of it can create evil. Help me to be financially prudent, in Jesus’ name, amen.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/womenoflight/episodes/HOW-MUCH-e389suu

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