Verify Podcast

Have you ever heard someone preach that poverty can lead you to sin? I’ve heard it preached many times, and you know what? It’s so true.  Poverty CAN lead you to sin. So you might be thinking at this point, what’s there to verify in today’s episode? Please stay with me a minute.

A few weeks ago, I read the parable of the sower in Luke 8, where Jesus tells the story of a farmer planting seeds, some of which fall by the road side, others on stony ground, others on thorny ground and finally, some on good ground. Now, Jesus explains from verse 11, that the seeds being sown in the parable, stand for the word of God, and the different places the seeds fall, I mean the road side, the stony ground, the thorny ground and the good ground, represent the various heart conditions of people who hear the word of God. Jesus then goes on to explain how each type of soil, that is each heart, receives the seed that falls on it.

So, but something He said in Luke 8:14 caught my attention. Jesus explained that the seeds that fell on thorny ground were choked out by the worries of this life, and the riches, and pleasures of this life. Did you get that? Jesus was saying in the same sentence that both the worries of life, which include financial issues and poverty, and the pleasures of life, can lead a person away from God.

So you see, many times, we hear only of how poverty and lack can lead to sin, and how this is why we must resist poverty with all that we have, but here, literally in the same breath, Jesus is saying that both the pressures of poverty and the lure of riches, in other words, both lack and abundance, can choke God’s word in a person’s life and make them unfruitful in the things of God.

So, whenever you hear that poverty can lead you to sin, it is the truth! But it is only half of the truth.

I pray today, that God will help us to always check His word for ourselves so that we can spot half-truths, and understand His whole counsel on any matter. I pray for grace to guard our hearts diligently, so that neither the worries, nor the pleasures of life, will distract us from a genuine and fruitful relationship with Christ. I ask in Jesus name, Amen.