God and His Bling

We place so much value on money. I once heard a really rich businessman and believer say, "Money is not as important as air, but it is close." Just to note, this guys opinion was that he didn't have to say, "wouldn't be cool if we had the money to help those people." He has the money to help and helps in amazing ways. His saying is true though. There are some people out there, more than we want to admit, that would rather have money that breath. But money has become so important to our society, that money controls all we do.

How did America pick a president? The one who spent the most campaigning and who promised to fix the failing economy. How do girls shop? When something is on sale, only to spend more because they are "saving money." How do guys decide how to buy something. Well the cheap guys pick the lowest price and the ego-fools pick the highest price. How do we decide social status, money. How do you get better tickets for an event, pay more. What is the number 1 issue that married couples argue about, money. Need I go on. Okay, no problem. What put America in a financial crisis, buying more than we could afford. Why are their people worldwide going hungry right now, we love our money too much.

This isn't a new problem. People have always valued money. When king Solomon was building the Temple he had a so many things made out of bronze put in the Temple, they didn't even take the time to weight it because it was so much. (1 Kings 7 :47)

1 Kings 7:48-51
Solomon also made all the funishings that were in the LORD's temple:
the golden alter;
the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence;
the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;
the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Placce, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated - the silver and gold and the furnishings - and placed them in the treasuries of the LORD's temple

Catch my drift. Israel like their money. Solomon was the riches king in the entire world! (1 Kings 10:23) So what happened to all this money?

2 Kings 24:13. As the LORD has declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and took away all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD.

This was not the first time all the gold and silver were take and it definitely wasn't the last. Now step back and think of about this. If you had a ton of money, on second thought, it doesn't matter how much money you have. Let's just say you got robbed. Anyone who gets robbed goes bananas and tries everything they can to get their money back or get justice by punishing the criminal. That's natural right? The writers of scripture note when the treasure is taken but as I was reading through 1 & 2 Kings I noticed something. Its what I call an "Ah Ha Moment", a moment when you get it, but at the same time this one was a "Duh Moment!"

God could care less what happens to all the gold in the Temple. He doesn't even care about money at all. We are suppose to give money to God, not because He needs it. God doesn't need your money, my money, Donald Trump's money or Oprah's money. FYI, God doesn't need money! When reading, I noticed that God didn't even flinch. In fact, God orchestrated the treasure being taken. He uses money to glorify Himself and His glory does not have anything to do with the money. So what is important to God?

Money is not a bad thing. Though Jesus says, " it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24) The more money you have, the wiser you are with your money, the more you can pay for things to happen. But money is not the focus of God. We, as believers should focus our time on giving glory to the Father. Whatever it is we may be doing, the focus should be on giving glory to the King.