Aha! Luke 6:24! That's the verse I was looking for...
What does this mean to you guys? I have always been of the opinion that it makes sense to make as much as you can. To grow wealth in order to provide for others...mostly food/shelter/GOOD clothing (practical, not fashionable). It seems like most should desire to do this...
But then this scripture always kind of catches me. I haven't read it in a while but it's like scripture sort of knocks around in my spirit and crafts my worldview...occasionally I feel the use a magnifying glass on a particular "thread" of the tapestry so to speak.
So you can make a choice. To CHOOSE to be poor because of so many scriptures against the folly of riches...and yet, "something" has to pay the bills, so I always reach a sort of impasse.
I've always wanted to be rich, mostly to help people, also to enjoy all the DIY aspects of being a human being. To build on a solid foundation...every ministry requires donation of some sort. I also have a taste for luxury (even in poverty). Natural luxuries but even those usually cost something. Drinking in the beauty of the grand canyon is a luxury item IMO. Enjoying the beauty of Hawaii...
and yet, I feel guilty for things like that because it doesn't feel very sacrificial and just feels hedonistic to an extent. So it all gets a tad muddled for me.
So it seems like a trap to enjoy this world "fully" solomon style and yet there are times when I feel like that's exactly what the Lord wants me to do. Instead of focusing on eternal rewards...relax, praise and do some earthly content testing
Anyway, any of you guys have frustrating dichotomies like that?
20 Then Jesus looked steadily at his disciples and said, “How happy are you who own nothing, for the kingdom of God is yours!
21 “How happy are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied! “How happy are you who weep now, for you are going to laugh!
22-23 “How happy you are when men hate you and turn you out of their company; when they slander you and detest all that you stand for because you are loyal to the Son of Man. Be glad when that happens and jump for joy—your reward in Heaven is magnificent. For that is exactly how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 “But how miserable for you who are rich, for you have had all your comforts!
25 “How miserable for you who have all you want, for you are going to be hungry! “How miserable for you who are laughing now, for you will know sorrow and tears!
26 “How miserable for you when everybody says nice things about you, for that is exactly how their fathers treated the false prophets.
27-28 “But I say to all of you who will listen to me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly.
29a “As for the man who hits you on one cheek, offer him the other one as well!
29b-30 And if a man is taking away your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt as well. Give to everyone who asks you, and when a man has taken what belongs to you, don’t demand it back.”
31 “Treat men exactly as you would like them to treat you.”
32-35 “If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that, And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get your money back, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners and expect to get their money back. No, you are to love your enemies and do good and lend without hope of return. Your reward will be wonderful and you will be sons of the most high. For he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked!
36 “You must be merciful, as your father in Heaven is merciful.”
37-38 “Don’t judge other people and you will not be judged yourselves. Don’t condemn and you will not be condemned. Make allowances for others and people will make allowances for you. Give and men will give to you—yes, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will they pour into your lap. For whatever measure you use with other people, they will use in their dealings with you.”
The need for thorough-going sincerity
39-40 Then he gave them an illustration—“Can one blind man be guide to another blind man? Surely they will both fall into the ditch together. A disciple is not above his teacher, but when he is fully trained he will be like his teacher.”
41-42 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when you cannot see the plank in your own? You fraud, take the plank out of your own eye first and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck.”
43-45 “It is impossible for a good tree to produce bad fruit—as impossible as it is for a bad tree to produce good fruit. Do not men know what a tree is by its fruit? You cannot pick figs from briars, or gather a bunch of grapes from a blackberry bush! A good man produces good things from the good stored up in his heart, and a bad man produce evil things from his own stores of evil. For a man’s words will always express what has been treasured in his heart.”
46 “And what is the point of calling me, ‘Lord, Lord’, without doing what I tell you to do?”
47-49 “Let me show you what the man who comes to me, hears what I have to say, and puts it into practice, is really like. He is like a man building a house, who dug down to rock-bottom and laid the foundation of his house upon it. Then when the flood came and flood-water swept down upon that house, it could not shift it because it was properly built. But the man who hears me and does nothing about it is like a man who built his house with its foundation upon the soft earth. When the flood-water swept down upon it, it collapsed and the whole house crashed down in ruins.”
