Again, Follow The Money

One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. [Acts 16.16-19]

A tried and true method to find where people refuse or betray faith in God is to simply follow the money.

Where the money is (the marketplace) is quite often where the trouble begins. Interestingly enough, we find another passage also from today's One Year Chronological Bible reading that further supports this claim:

But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. [Acts 17.5]

Could it be, when God's people finally declare the truth lying in plain sight throughout the Bible about the sin of idolatry impeding or outright preventing faith in God (and particularly, Jesus) alone, that the "marketplace" will be central to the persecution launched to stop that message?

If we follow the money, as the world and also our own finances go, we discover that debt, insurance, medicine and technology involve unimaginable quantities of money. With this understanding, it should at least require a 'wary eye' from us when we see that the USA's government healthcare (insurance) operation is called "the Health Insurance Marketplace®" (healthcare,gov).

I am not anti-capitalist but I am anti-idolatry. In this stance, I find myself out of good graces with both prevailing political parties in my nation, not to mention at odds with most of the Church! And, I find myself a hypocrite...

Because the apostle Paul literally had scars on his body resultant to his experiences with money-making ventures, it is not at all unclear what he was thinking when he wrote the following to his protégé Timothy:

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. [1 Timothy 6.10]

Am I simply a rogue fanatic in declaring that we must betray the money-ridden programs of man (idols) and follow only Jesus? Dear reader, you be the judge:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

The 'hall of faith' found in Hebrews 11 becomes much more relevant (especially what the author has highlighted in bold):

By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. [Hebrews 11.33-38] 

How far should a believer go to remain in faith? To what extreme should one refuse to "turn from God" by refusing turning to idols? Jesus' demand to "give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me" says it all.

Father, may the truth of Your Word rise to prevalence in the few who, like Christ, like the apostle Paul, and like those others mentioned in Hebrews 11 refuse to compromise - refuse to allow money to influence "faith" decisions. So be it.