Chapter 13: 1-6
“Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”
Over the past few weeks, we have talked about brotherly love and how important it is to live a moral life before the Lord. We have also looked at the wonder of a godly marriage; God designed marriage to be the backbone, the very foundation of a society. Without strong godly marriage, a society will fall apart, and we see that today. The attacks on marriage, from the welfare system to the homosexual movement and other movements, have chipped away for 50+ years on marriage.
It is important that we be deliberate in our love one to another, to Christian strangers, and to those that are imprisoned and beaten down for the sake of the Gospel. And it is just as important that God’s people have vibrant, loving, passionate marriages that bind us together and thwart the lies of the world outside. Today we will look at another element of good moral living as a child of God.
- Don’t Covet; be content, verse 5
The Tenth Commandment comes to mind. Moses wrote these words back in Exodus a long time ago, and they are just as relevant today.
Exodus 20:17 (KJV) “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.”
This is not to be confused with admiring someone’s achievements or how God has blessed them. It is not even about ambition; you see someone’s success, and you work hard to achieve that kind of success. No, to covet is to want to take what is there by any means possible. You want their home, their car, his or her assets, and maybe even to take another’s spouse. You have no boundaries, and you do not observe or respect anyone else’s boundaries; you have no regard for one’s properties. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. If that wealth is gotten in proper business practices or handed down from generation to generation, then there is nothing wrong with wealth.
The Bible and, in fact, history is filled with many very wealthy men, women, and families of God. There are many very godly men and women walking the earth today who are billionaires and millionaires. That wealth is well-gotten and rightfully theirs. They should not feel or be made to feel guilty because they are wealthy, and church folks should not swindle each other out of money because ‘well, they can afford it.’ No, no, no!! Most rich godly people are generous, at least the ones I know and many that I have read after. They tend not to let others know what they are doing when they give monies away.
If you are not wealthy, if you seem to struggle – and there are times when my family and I did struggle – you need to be content with the old car, the older clothes, and the sacrifices that are to be made when one is financially tight. Do not grow envious and jealous of your wealthy brethren. Do not scheme and plot how to get money from them. Seek God, put Him first, and He will supply your needs; no questions asked, God cannot lie.
Matthew 6:31-33, Berean Study Bible “Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”
God promises that if you put Him first, He will supply ALL of your needs. Not our wants and not our ambitions, but our needs. There will always be the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ Some will get their money easily, some with hard work, and some just seem to be ‘lucky.’ But you will not be cheated by God. Do not covet your sibling’s stuff.
- God is my Helper, verse 6
Moral living is understanding that we have all we need from God. And that God is our helper. There is no need to live a life of fear. We do. I do. God is for us; God is my friend. He is on my side and our side if we are His children. God cannot be against us. You and I do not have to be constantly trying to win God’s favor. We have it in Jesus.
We are going into some of the most dangerous times to be set upon the Lord’s true churches in a long, long time. We will face hard things, things that will scare us and make us wonder if God is truly for us. He is. Even if we lose everything and suffer, God is for us. He is on our side. We must have this mindset before the trouble comes. We must have this resolved before the suffering and the loss. We must have this secure framework and foundation so that when the hatred comes and the very people who say that they love us turn on us, we will not be broken and dismayed; why? Because we know God is on our side. He is right with us, and He one day will avenge all the pain and suffering of those who defy Him and hurt us.
Proper moral conduct includes loving our siblings in the Lord, serving our siblings in the Lord, and remembering those that suffer for the Lord. We should have vibrant and passion-filled marriages filled with lots of kids. In addition, we should learn to be content and live securely that God is our friend; a true friend who cannot and will not abandon us no matter what the circumstances seem to say.
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
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