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continuation...
This is the kind of thinking that a man has, especially if he wants to make himself very rich. He had a bountiful harvest and later he realized that his barn has become too small for his goods. So, he thought of destroying his barn, and build bigger one. This only proves that, the bigger the assets that a person has gained, the greater also is his desire to make it grow much, much bigger. Never does he think of sharing his excesses to others even if his barn is already full. Instead, of sharing his extra goods to others, he decided to build himself a bigger barn, which could accommodate all his harvests. And what was his next plan? Let us continue Luke 12:19-20 –
“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided.”
The rich are not really rich in the eyes of God. What did the man plan to do now that has plenty of goods in his barn, which could last many years? Take note, his stock is meant to last, not for just a year, but for many years. What did he plan to do? Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. What else will he do but eat and drink? In fact, he can even afford to buy all kinds of drinks, not just water. He’ll just engage himself in merriment. And all these things are not good to his health. What would happen later? God would ask him,
“Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided.”
What is the inevitable ending of this man who thinks of nothing but merrymaking, eating, and drinking? He is bound to have hypertension and heart attack. Why? He is no longer doing any physical exertion since he is always seated in banquet tables. He is always engaged in merrymaking, so, he does not cry anymore. You know, the uric acid is secreted if we perspire. The salt in our body stores a lot of water, which is damaging to the heart. But they could be secreted through perspiration. Whenever a person cries, the poisonous substances in his body are likewise secreted. That is why crying is also good to our health.
But the moment a person begins to live in abundance, he begins to forget God. He no longer cries; he no longer sweats. He spends his time in eating, drinking, and relaxing. He is always merry. The following night, he’d have a heart attack. And if his wife is still young, there is a great possibility that she’ll remarry. So, she and her new husband will have a grand time to all the riches that he left behind – riches which he refused to share with his poor fellowman. In fact, sharing his riches with others did not even enter his mind. This is the reason why, we can say that, as far as man’s priorities are concerned, the top on his list is himself. Seldom will you find selfless people these days. Most of the people now are selfish and self-centered. They think of nothing but themselves. What is our proof that his self is, indeed, the priority of man? Ecclesiastes 2:24 says—
“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.”
Foods and drinks come from God. But man acquired them for himself alone. He feeds himself, but he does not want to feed others. He is drinking, but he does not want the others to drink also. He is happy, but does not want to share his happiness with others. While those things came from God, he is enjoying them all by himself. That is what the Bible said,
"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour."
Let me ask you. Who among you does not want to eat, and drink, and be merry? What God said is true. All of us love to eat, to drink, and to be merry. These are the things that man loves doing. However, that preference in life will be changed if you decide to follow God. People who follow God are ready and willing to deprive themselves of food, luxury, and pleasures. He has learned how to fast. He has learned to deny himself of food and all forms of worldly pleasures. A person who has learned to follow Christ denies himself of all the pleasures of the flesh. Christ said,
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself …” (Mat. 16:24)
You know, that is not easy to do. It is not easy to deny oneself of food, especially if there is a wide assortment of food around you. But it is not that hard to deny oneself of food if there is really nothing to eat. You have no choice but to endure hunger, if that is the case. But it is, indeed, a remarkable gesture that you are able to fast while in the midst of so many foods. And that cannot be done by a person without faith.
Eating, drinking, and merrymaking are the things that man wants to do. He wants nothing but relaxation and pleasure. In addition, man also wants to satisfy his sexual desires. The rich can afford to change his wife as often as he wants. He would go to Europe and womanize there. Next, he would go to Hong Kong to try other women there. These are some of the things that man desires. And they are all against the will of God. In fact, when our Lord Jesus Christ preached the word that came from the Father, He said in Matthew 4:4—
“But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
“Bread” is not all that matters. Man does not live by bread alone. Our Lord Jesus said that the sustenance of life is not from bread alone. It is “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
What is lacking in the lives of many people is the word that comes from the mouth of God. The “word” that many religions follow today did not come from the mouth of God but from the mouth of the pastors. They live by the word of their pastor. They practice “love offering” because their pastor told them so. God did not say it. They make “prayer requests” but must give donations or contributions. There are no prayers with donation in the Bible. They also commemorate the “santa cena” or the “holy supper”, but they also collect contributions from their members. And what is worse, the members try to outdo each other in terms of the amount that they shall contribute. This is also but another “word” of the pastor. These are what many religions practice now, but they are lacking something very important.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Find out for yourself if the thing you live by is just a whim of your pastors. Find out if their doctrine that a person can kill for the sake of his faith is biblical. Christ did not teach anybody to kill for his faith. A person who has faith will not kill. Roman 12:19 says—
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Those who kill are not of God. And since they are not of God, definitely, they are of the devil. Those pastors, who give their members a license to kill, to hurt, and to harm other people, are disciples of the devil. Actually, there are even religious organizations today that cuddle hoodlums and killers for hire. Will you say that those people are living by the word of God? They live by the word of their pastors and ministers. That is why it is important that we realize that we must not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
If we will just seriously consider what the Bible says, we will find out that most of the things that man likes are all against the will of God. Very often, man’s preferences concern only the self – eating, drinking, merrymaking, and pleasure. Basically, man never finds satisfaction. As long as he lives, he will continually crave for more. His desire for women never ends. Even if he already had 10 women in his life, he would still look for the eleventh, or the twelfth. Let us read what the wisest king, who became a preacher of God, said. Ecclesiastes 1:8 says—
“All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”
See? “The eye is not satisfied with seeing.” A person watched a movie and found it beautiful. Before the lights were turned on, a teaser for the next film was shown. He also found it interesting, so he told himself, “I will watch it.”
The ear, likewise, never finds contentment in listening. A person already has a stereo, but when it got out of style, he bought a portable component. He liked its sound quality. But when the digital laser disc came out, he also bought one. He keeps on buying whatever is the latest. The ear is willing to absorb everything. Man is never satisfied. Ecclesiastes 5:10 says,
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
Basically, man never finds contentment and satisfaction. But not a Christian! God has taught the Christians to practice outstanding traits and values. A Christian, like St. Paul, knows how to be contented. Philippians 4:11, 18, 12-13 says—
“Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. . . .
But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.”
A Christian finds contentment in whatever state he is. He is still happy despite the hardships that he is experiencing in life. Whether his stomach is full, or not, he is happy because he has learned the mystery of hunger and abundance. A Christian has a different outlook in life. Unlike those who do not know yet the Christian way of life, who do not find contentment and satisfaction in everything. The Bible said, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.” This is the reason why man keeps on working, striving for more. When he had 10 thousand, he wanted to make it 20 thousand. When he already had 20 thousand, he wanted 50 thousand. He had 50 thousand, but now he wanted 100 thousand. He got the 100 thousand, but this time, he wanted a million. When he became a millionaire, he wanted to be a billionaire. And when he already became a billionaire, he wanted to be a multi-billionaire, and so on, and so forth.
Why are there people who became multi-billionaires? It is because they do not have contentment. They find no satisfaction with what they already have, so they clamored for more. Despite the fact that, even if they no longer work for the rest of their lives, they will not be able to spend their billion pesos. Actually, if placed in a bank, a billion pesos would earn, more or less, 400 million a year. And there are only 365 days in a year. Therefore, with one billion pesos, you will already earn more then one million pesos a day. How can you spend that one million in a day?
But why is it that he who already has one billion wants more billions? He does not have contentment. For him, money is the most important thing in life, especially if he does not know God yet. And for us not to be blinded and misled by the cares of this world, let us consider the admonition of our Lord Jesus Christ. Luke 21:34 says—
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
Christ told us to take heed of ourselves, lest our hearts be overcharged. The worst thing that could happen to a person is, for his heart to be overcharged, or to overwork. After a day’s labor, our body may be drained of energy. According to elders, fatigue is not inherent in our body; it simply results from overworking, or too much physical exertion. But a person who is dead tired could readily fall asleep the moment his back touches the bed. As written in Ecclesiastes 5:12—
“The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.”
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
