(9) All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest.
(10) His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
(11) Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
(12) " Come," one says, "I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; Tomorrow will be as today, And much more abundant."
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Do these two prophecies describe America? "Everyone is given to covetousness," "greedy dogs which never have enough." A Protestant saying is that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." An anonymous wit paralleled this, saying the U.S. motto should be, "The chief end of man is to glorify prosperity and enjoy it forever." A European observer wrote that "desire is enthroned in the mind of the American consumer." We are immersed in a constant barrage of advertisement. Our whole economy works to stimulate our desire for food, clothing, automobiles, furniture, jewelry, and travel, filling our minds with the "gimmies." It is difficult to resist unless our focus is disciplined toward going in the right direction.
Because of these sins, God calls upon the nations to devour His people. The leaders are just as blind to the nation's real needs because, instead of speaking out and acting upon moral issues, they are embroiled in their own lusts. While America sinks into the quicksand of that way of life, they proclaim an even better and brighter tomorrow!
Another reason why coveting has the power to destroy the coveter is revealed in the credit purchasing system that dominates the American economy. Buying on credit is based upon the idea of possessing something before one can afford it. Advertising usually accompanies credit, and the two of them together seductively lure the unwary and weak. Yet because of the charges collected by the lender, credit actually makes things even more expensive, causing greater debt!
But, God asks in Jeremiah 6:9-13, who will listen? People will not listen to such simple wisdom as delaying a purchase to pay in cash to save money. They will not listen even when told they will be able to make more purchases because they will have more money to spend. They do not listen because their minds are on their sin. The cycle of sin continues onto other sins their covetousness motivates.
This is why tithing comes as such a shock to many new brethren. As a nation, we are living way over our heads. When we learn of tithing, the penalty for our prior stealing from God really hurts. We then have to learn to pay in adversity. Covetousness has boomeranged and caught us in a way we never dreamed.
John W. Ritenbaugh Excerpted from: The Tenth Commandment (1998)
Boy…rather than the title “How Relevant Is Stewardship?” how about alternative titles such as How Irrelevant Is Stewardship? How Immaterial Is Stewardship?; How Unnecessary Is Stewardship?; How Stupid Is Stewardship?; How Limiting Is Stewardship?; How Divinely-Selfish Is Stewardship?; How Un-American Dream Is Stewardship?; and How Un-American Is Stewardship?
In Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” Brutus, in response to cheering in the background, says, “I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king.” To which Cassius says, “Ah, do you FEAR it?”
Oh, how indicative of Brutus’ heart, mind, and concerns was that one four-letter word “fear.” And how, for someone such as Cassius, who had such a keen listening-ear, did that four-letter word open the flood-gates that led to Brutus’ ignoble death.
Consider Cassius’ inability to set-the-hook and reel Brutus in as part of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, as well as himself, if his heart and mind would have said, “I am glad the people choose Caesar for their king” or “I am thrilled the people choose Caesar for their king.”
How possible is it not, that the devil has the same kind of listening-ear as did Cassius?
How possible is it not, that the devil hears our heart and mind, spoken or unspoken, and is, therefore, enabled by we ourselves to set-the-hook in us in order to assassinate ourselves, which is in Christ, by condeming us to spend an eternity of separation from God all because of one thought rather than another, one word as opposed to another?
Are we not told in the Bible to “be vigilant”?
With thoughts of that “prowling lion,” referenced by my pastor, and to borrow from a classic children’s story: “…my, what big ears you have.”