A Greater Gain in Godliness

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  1 Timothy 6: 9, 10

I will never forget when life was stolen away, precious life of people very important to me and my family. A perpetrator implemented a plot to take the lives of my former husband and son. Methodically stalked and brutally shot, they were both murdered. Why? Financial gain.

Despicable people will lie, rob, or even murder to acquire riches. The core desire for their gain is greed and covetousness for something that typically belongs to someone else. This person who committed this act had an insatiable desire for wealth and prosperity. He thought by murdering Bill and Michael he would gain possession of the family business. Oh what a foolish man he was! Apparently, he did not understand how these harmful actions would be a snare to bring him right into ruin and destruction. As Timothy warns; “…some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Today he is on death row – a place I bet he never thought he would be, and perhaps an outcome he didn’t even consider.

Let this be an example of warning to everyone that the wrong pursuit of riches has a huge price. I wonder if one purpose of his life is to serve as a warning to us.

A word of wisdom,  “…godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”  1 Timothy 6: 6

Lord Jesus, cover your hand over us that we would never desire to covet another person’s property. Draw us close to You so our desires would be fixed on Your kingdom and purposes. Amen.