Friday, August 19, 2005

Good Morning!

Hope everyone makes it on Sunday. Sorry I won't be able to be there, but we will still have class and a discussion, so please come if you can make it.

The new unit for this week is Unit 16 -- The Danger of Riches

Focus Scripture for the Week: 1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Today's Scriptures: 1 Timothy 6:3-10; Psalm 119:1-16, Psalm 1:1-6

Today's Discussion:

-- these are our three remaining scriptures for the week.

-- the scripture from this letter from Paul to Timothy is the key scripture for the whole week, and it is the source of the focus scripture that we have had all week.

-- the focus scripture we have is one of the most misquoted verses in history. It is regularly misquoted as "Money is THE root of ALL evil". I think that the differences between the correct scripture and the misquoted scripture provide us a good outline for the what we are supposed to take away this week.

-- Money vs. the love of money -- Wesley, in his writings, outlines how money can do good, in the hands of a believer. Money is a thing, it is not inherently bad or good. It is our attitude towards it that is the catalyst for good or bad. And love of money -- what it can do for us, the protection and security that we perceive it supplies, the power and stature that we perceive it gives us, ultimately deceives us and warps our relationship with God.

-- THE root vs. A root -- the misquote of money as THE root gives money too much credit. There are many paths to evil, but they do not begin with things, they begin with our relationship with God. The love of money is just one of the ways that our relationship with God can be impaired.

-- ALL evil vs. All kinds of evil --- again, the misquote gives money to much credit -- there is much evil that we see splashed across our newspapers that is rooted in the love of money, but humans have the ability to love other things other than God, and those loves can lead us astray just as the love of money. Love of money is probably number one on the list, but it is not the only thing on the list.

-- the other issue raised in the passage from Timothy is contentment with what you have, vs. a desire to get rich, which in so many words, Paul sees as wanting more than you need. In a different twist, Wesley's instruction to "gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can" - the desire to be rich is really about spending more on yourself than you need to. In both case, it isn't a dollar amount as much as it is selfishness and attitude.

Question for Sunday:

-- what are the key attitudes we must have and actions we must take to avoid "the love of money"?

Today's prayer request: Natalee Holloway's family and friends.

I know that most of the world has moved on, but this is still a very much ongoing nightmare for Natalee's family.
I think we need to pray for God to give her family some resolution -- either to find Natalee, or to give them permission and courage to move on with their lives.

Today's class member prayer:

Jerri Wesson

Have a great day.

Jay