At work with God – Day 6

₁₇“Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.”

₇I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: ₈keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. ₉If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God.

₅and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich.

₆Well, religion does make a person very rich, if he is satisfied with what he has. ₇What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! ₈So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us. ₉But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. ₁₀For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

₁₆Everything that belongs to the world — what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of — none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world. ₁₇The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live for ever.

₅Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” ₆Let us be bold, then, and say:

₁₁And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learnt to be satisfied with what I have.