“Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I WILL NEVER [under any circumstances] DESERT YOU [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], NOR WILL I FORSAKE or LET YOU DOWN or RELAX MY HOLD ON YOU [assuredly not]!”Hebrews 13:5 AMP

I wanted to take a moment and look at this verse considering our current Christmas season. Interestingly the Amplified bring out a different color to the word used here to mean character. The King James version uses the word conduct. They are very similar but the Amplified brings out the foundation is conduct which is character! Clearly the Greek here uses the word tropos which defines itself as “way of life or manner of life.” In many places we are warned about those who say one thing but do something different. No one can escape the reality that whatever is in your heart will ultimately guide your actions! The Amplified version emphasizes the place from which character comes from, your moral essence or inner nature life. The warning here is that the pursuit of money that take precedence over everything else will ultimately lead to destruction Creating wealth is not an evil thing. The church needs each and every member to be moving in the blessing of tithing. The enemy understands this concept as he is spending billions on stealing the minds and hearts of this generation. His plan has been unfolding for many years and now we clearly see the damage he has caused to mankind. The verse today tells the believer to be “financially ethical.” Remember that morals are what you believe and ethics are the resulting behavioral guideline to those beliefs! The reality is whatever God has put in your hand should be first considered His. God has promised that if you,

“But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right–the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.” Matthew 6:33 AMP

The message here is that God has again promised that He will take care of us if we will take care of what He has given! The action word here is contentment. The word here is means “to be satisfied on the inner-self.” According to this verse contentment is grounded in God and His sovereign provision. We read in Matthew 6 the following.

“These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” Matthew 6:32 NLT

Notice who are the ones without contentment…unbelievers! Those who do not know the intimacy and love of the Father toward us who believe! During the season many focus on what they don’t have and hope that someone will give. Let’s take time this season to be thankful for what He has given us…new life! What better gift could we ask for? The batteries never run out or need charged, the size always fits and the style never changes and software never needs updated! I would remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul to a young man starting his journey.

“But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God]. 7For we have brought nothing into the world, so [it is clear that] we cannot take anything out of it, either. 8But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9But those who [are not financially ethical and] crave to get rich [with a compulsive, greedy longing for wealth] fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction [leading to personal misery]. 10For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10 AMP

Are you satisfied with His provision in your life? Are you being faithful to what He has placed in your hand? If so, rest assured that He will always be there in your time of need! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken