The Deceitfulness of Riches

Discipleship Devotional, February 4th, 2024

“And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
– Mark 4:19 (KJV)

Our Lord Jesus spoke about the deceitfulness of riches and how it destroys people. This is very true because it seeks to take our eyes away from trusting in God to trusting in wealth. Mammon deceives the heart of its victims by making them feel money is their security. This can happen to both the rich and the poor. There are poor people who are caught in this web, just as there are rich people.

Mammon tries to deceive our hearts into believing that once we have money, we don’t need God. This is why we hear about many people who used to come to church religiously and pray for a financial breakthrough; but the moment the money comes, they forget God. They become deceived by the wealth they have.

This is a very dangerous place to be because money has its limits. There are problems that money cannot solve. So once the devil gets you to a point where you trust in money over God, he can present you with a problem that money cannot fix. This is why many rich people cannot even enjoy their wealth. Even if you don’t face such a problem, ultimately, trusting in mammon leads you away from Christ.

The Apostle Paul charged Timothy to warn the rich not to be proud or trust in their riches. Rather, he said they ought to trust in God, who gives to them richly.

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
– 1 Timothy 6:17 (KJV)

Too many have fallen to the deceitfulness of riches. They are drawn into the idolatry of serving mammon. Today, God is urging us to guard our hearts. We can have money, but we must not let it have our hearts. The interesting thing about this issue is that it’s not really about rich people alone. It can affect the poor. There are many poor who are bound to mammon, and there are many rich who are not. Let’s take heed.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me to trust in You and only You. Help me to guard my heart against the idolatry of mammon. Amen.