Day 6: Worthless Trash
“They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of the Lord’s anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up" (Ezekiel 7:19 - NLT).
Almighty God, our Father in heaven, You are the God who declares, I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God...All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless (Isaiah 44: 6, 9).
You are the Creator, the Owner, the Lord, and the Ruler of all. Yet in Your goodness, kindness, and providence, You richly provide us with with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). But You never intended for us to accumulate, and hoard, and create idols of Your gifts and blessings.
The Lord Jesus was clear about the priorities for our lives: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13)
Father, none of us is exempt from that instruction. We often imagine that this was addressed to only the very rich, but rich and poor alike can serve money, and fall into worship of worthless trash. The writer to the Hebrews addressed all believers in the directive, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have... (Hebrews 13:5).
In an age where greed, covetousness, and idolatry are encouraged, stoked, promoted, and paraded, show us the tacit or explicit ways we adopt these values, or approve of them. Make us aware of the places, the patterns and the activities in our lives that create space for these evils. Show us where our ladles are lodged in pots of greed, idolatry, envy and covetousness.
Keep us mindful of the words of our Lord Jesus, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Break the strongholds of idolatry—constant accumulation, excess, and acquisitiveness. Break the strongholds of pride—keeping up, one-upping, outdoing, outshining, or constant competing.
You call us to an eternal view, since the temporary currency of this world has no lasting value. The apostle Paul in writing to Timothy, tells him to urge believers in Jesus to invest in the permanent—to put their hope in God instead of in the uncertain wealth of this fleeting life:
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share...[in order to...] lay up treasure for themselves...for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Father, the wisdom of Your word tells us, Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death (Proverbs 11:4). Help us to maintain perspective.
Help us not to pour our life—our worship into worthless trash that can neither satisfy nor feed us in the day of disaster, in the day of death, or in the day of Your judgment.
Help us not to be tripped up by greed.
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