The Rush for Riches

“If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.” Psalm 62:10; “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV) A number of years ago we visited Barkerville, BC, which is a replica of the main boomtown during the Cariboo Gold Rush in the 1880s. In history, the words “gold rush” were used, implying people on the move in a hurry because of the “promise” of worldly riches that they had heard about. It is incredible to think about the hard times — treacherous mountain passes and different kinds of suffering many went through to get there to find riches. In Luke 12:20-21, the Bible talks about a man whose only interest was in getting richer. But God said this to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be that you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (NKJV). The wonderful promise that God gave at the time of His Son’s birth was worth far more — yet we do not see people rushing to hear the truth. That included the promise of forgiveness through Christ, which would make it possible for them to have an everlasting home in heaven with God for eternity — not just for a few years — instead of the utter hopelessness of everlasting destruction in a place made for the devil and his angels. Lord, help us all to understand more fully all that is made available to us through the gift of Your Son, as He died for the sins of mankind. — Bill Jackson   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org