What’s In The Box?

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
–1 Timothy 6:9

You might be familiar with Bob Buford, who wrote the best-selling book “Halftime.” Buford was a successful cable television executive, and he was also a Christian. About halfway through his life, he decided that he wanted to do something more significant with his life. So he called a well-known strategic consultant who had worked with executives from Coca-Cola, Xerox, and other companies. The consultant sat down with Bob, and after listening to him talk about his vague ideas for the future, he asked Bob, “What’s in the box?” He explained that the box represented Bob’s core mission, the single thing that would determine the direction of his life. “For you, it is either money or Jesus Christ,” the consultant said. “If you can tell me which it is, I can tell you the strategic planning implications of that choice. If you can’t tell me, you are going to oscillate between those two values and be confused.”

Imagine that consultant sat down with you. Would he be able to discern the focus of your life, or are you oscillating between two values? What’s in the box–is it Jesus Christ, or money?

People get fixated on money for a lot of reasons. Some people appreciate the luxuries that money can buy: a beautiful home, designer clothes, a foreign automobile. Other people love money because it provides independence. Sometimes people who do not have much money are preoccupied with it because they imagine that money could solve all their problems. Whatever the reason you might love money, the results are always the same. As Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

That word “snare” refers to a trap that was set by a skillful hunter in order to entrap an animal. Satan is a master stalker. Right now he is stalking you, trying to turn you away from God, and one of the traps that he sets is a preoccupation with money. A focus on money destroys our desire for God, our dependence upon God, and our trust in God. That is why Jesus said in Mathew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Jesus said you can love money or you can love God, but you cannot love both. If you want to avoid falling into Satan’s snare, you have to have the right focus.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “These Boots Were Made For Walking” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.

Bob Buford, “Halftime: Moving From Success To Significance” (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 53.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org