"You're A Smart Guy!" (Luke 16:13)

A fellow musician on my church worship team recently engaged me in a conversation about our faith. We reflected upon the trials of our lives and how some leaders of the Christian church had fallen to the temptations of money and success. As we recounted the examples, he shook his head and then looked at me and smiled.

 

“You’re a smart guy! This wouldn’t happen to you.”

 

I shifted uneasily and nodded. Sure, I thought. Such a smart guy. So smart that I, too, fell in similar fashion. For many years, I turned my back on Jesus Christ and deliberately lived my life in opposition to Him, chasing after money and success in my business. But as my professional successes increased, my personal losses accelerated. I was miserable and lost, serving a false idol of money instead of the true and living God, Jesus Christ.

 

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Luke 16:13 (NKJV)

 

I served mammon-money, riches, and the accumulation of wealth. I did not want to admit it and convinced myself that my actions served the medical needs of my community, making life better for others. But the blunt reality was I served my own greed and interests.

 

Thanks be to God that by His grace and mercy, He rescued me from this life. It took many years and I still struggle with old habits. But God is faithful, even when I am not.

 

I am not a smart guy. I am a sinner and am saved only by the grace and mercy of my Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.