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The Root

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Read This Passage: 1 Timothy 6:6-10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. —1 Timothy 6:10

Tree roots. Dark roots. Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The root of the problem. The point is, we have a lot of uses for the word root. Roots supply nutrients to trees and plants; some women color the roots of their hair to hide its natural shade. Alex Haley made the idea of genealogical roots famous with his 1976 best-seller. But today’s devotion and key verse use the word root in reference to the source of the problem.
In this case, 1 Timothy 6:10 points out that the source of “all kinds of evil” is the love of money. Notice it’s not money, as this verse is often misquoted, but the love of money that Scripture says causes problems. Loving money involves craving it, focusing on it, pursuing more of it at all costs. Money is powerful and necessary in this world, but it’s all too easy to become obsessed by an all-consuming desire for more. What else can you become obsessed with and neglect God? What about popularity or our looks? Anything, even good things we consume ourselves with can pull us away from God.

God knew that money’s power and necessity would make it vital and important in our lives. He also knew that our desires and our love could become more focused on it than on Him. When money reaches that place of importance in our lives, it puts a strain on our relationship with God. Instead of pursuing Him with passion, we’re pursuing more money, and God, our relationship with Him, and His will are somewhere in our rearview mirrors.

So what is in your heart? What do you treasure? Seek to make God your all-consuming focus!

Real Choices
Take a good, hard look at your life. What is your passion? Is it God? Fame? Money? Awards? What’s separating you from His will and point of view? As long as there is air in your lungs, it is never too late to fix your relationship with Him if you feel disconnected from Him.

Digging Deeper
Read over Matthew 6:24. This is another verse that emphasizes that loving or serving money (or anything other than God) separates us from Him. What’s separating you from a closer relationship with God?

Pray
Lord, I want You to be my all-consuming focus. Help me to focus on the things that matter to You and keep money in the right perspective.


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Word of Advice

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Read This Passage: Proverbs 23:4-8
Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it. —Proverbs 23:4

I’m not sure if it’s human nature or strictly a guy thing, but I have a strong competitive streak. I know with most guys, there is a tendency to want to be the best at something.

The key verse of this passage reminds me of some of the games we play at camp. I thoroughly enjoy watching people act completely ridiculous while playing with them. It’s all about winning and losing. I’ve seen campers go 100% and dive after balls, and do anything to score. It’s winner-take-all, and every player wants the bragging rights. I’ve watched so many people try so hard and focus so much energy on being the best in that competition. I’ve seen them lose their composure, their -tempers, and even their control. They’re striving to win that competition, wearing themselves out to be named the winner. And in the long run, it’s an achievement that doesn’t even count for that much.

That’s the point of today’s key verse and devotion: we can spend our lives wearing ourselves out to get more—money, things, attention—and devoting ourselves to activities that, in the end, won’t amount to anything of eternal value. Money is a necessary resource in this world. Fame and attention are accolades we all desire on some level, but they’re not eternal. God wants us to spend our time and energy striving for things of eternal significance, things that matter, like telling the gospel message that you learned at camp and loving God and others. These things last. So take this word of advice: devote your life to things of eternal value. You may not be rich or famous, but you’ll bring glory to God.

Real Choices
Do you focus your energy on faith and ministry or on worldly success? Take a good hard look at the way you spend your time and resources today. What do your actions and behaviors say you value: earthly treasures or things of eternal value?

Digging Deeper
Read James 4:14. What does this verse teach us about our lives here on earth? Reflect on what is important in this short time you have to serve God here.

Pray
Father, help me to use my energy to further Your kingdom in heaven rather than to increase my wealth on earth.


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Weigh In

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Read This Passage: Proverbs 16:8-11
Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are His concern. —Proverbs 16:11

I asked a teenager from my hometown to give me an example of something he did that was dishonest or unpleasing to God. He recalled several instances in which he cheated on homework in one of his classes. It was a subject he had struggled with all year, so he started to copy assignments from his peers.

That particular type of dishonesty is probably more common than most of us would like to admit—or at least a very real temptation in our daily lives. At the time, cheating probably seemed like a good option to the teen I talked with, but it didn’t honor God in any way. And my friend learned the consequences of dishonesty the hard way—a couple of -failing grades on tests because he didn’t actually know the material. It was evident that he had not been doing his own work up to that point. What about honesty while at camp? What if everyone cheated in 4 square – a tiny example I know, but think how it ruins the game. This is true with life. God set it up so that we would receive the best life possible, if we trust him. And he loves it when we are honest!

Honesty is important to God. We serve a God who is in control of all things, who has the right to bestow justice as He sees fit. But our God is also honest and good, and He wants us to embody those characteristics, too. In the simplest terms, God cares about honesty; He craves and desires it in our lives. And He doesn’t just want it every once in awhile or only in certain aspects of our lives; He wants honesty to characterize us, just as it does Him, all the time, every day.

God wants every part of our lives to honor Him, from school to work and especially in finances and when you get a job. In a job setting, you have an opportunity to show people Christ through your life. You can do that by making sure you use your money in godly ways. Strive to live a life—even now—that would make it past God’s honesty weigh-in.

Real Choices
How do you weigh in when it counts? Only you can answer these questions, so ask yourself if you really live with honesty and integrity. Do you honor God with your decisions? Your money? Your attitudes? Why or why not?

Digging Deeper
Cross reference Ephesians 4:28 and 1 Timothy 4:12 as you study this passage. Why is it important that God desires honesty in our lives, even when we’re young?

Pray
Father, help me to be more like You. Help me strive to be honest in every aspect of my life, to operate with integrity, and to set an example for others.


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