Does The End Justify The Means?

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Message No. 0769 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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Welcome to a new week! The prevailing rush to get rich in many societies is the subject of our writing this week. While there is nothing wrong with getting rich, the question before us all is, what means are we using to make our money? At what cost, and can we justify the methods? God bless you as you read.

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We live in a competitive world, and the race is not a sprint. There is no quick fix to many of the issues we face. Arriving at the finish line won’t happen overnight, and if it ever does, people begin to ask, how? Those who make lasting impacts on their own lives and the lives of others don’t cut corners. They run with patience and perseverance, and they cherish the results they achieve.

Gehazi was the servant of the great prophet Elisha. He served faithfully, until the day he decided it was taking too long for him to make it. His master clearly declared that he would receive no gifts from Naaman, Syrian’s leprous military commander (2 Kings 5:16), and having worked with him for a considerable period, he should have known that when Elisha spoke, he was not gambling. Judging from how Elisha received Elijah’s double portion of anointing and took over the office after Elijah was taken to heaven, everyone would have expected that Gehazi was in the best place to take over from Elisha, but he blew it up when he thought he could make some quick money by disobeying and deceiving his master (2 Kings 5:20-26).

Paul called Timothy his son in the faith because he mentored him in the Christian faith. He taught him not only character, but discipline. Writing to him in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 6 to 10, he declared:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Our world today has turned deaf ears to teachings of this kind. What we hear loudly, even when no words are spoken, is that the end justifies the means. But does it? Does it not matter when we cut corners and bend rules to achieve our goals while not caring who is hurt along the way? Is it okay to hit human beings, kill animals and collide with other objects on the road just because we are in a hurry to reach our destination?

From what we observe, people of different origins and generations have basically grown impatient and are increasingly unable to wait for their turns or do the hard work the previous generations did to ‘make ends meet.’ The youth are increasingly eager to show that they can make it in half the time their elders took, which is not a bad thing, but what means are they following to make it?

By making it, does it mean stealing? Does it mean manipulating the books and cheating others to rake funds into our accounts? Does it mean defrauding innocent people through the internet or through manipulating telephone calls? Does it mean defrauding our business partners and carting away the funds of the business? Just how do we define making it? Does it mean selling our souls to the devil or signing fake agreements with unsuspecting people? Do we make it by armed robbery or by obtaining fake documents and posing to be the owner of a property so you can sell it and disappear to thin air? Does it mean taking the church offering money to your house and depositing it in your own account on Monday morning?

When it comes to greed and quick gains, many people, including Christians, don’t seem to believe that this world is temporary, and that we will face our Maker one day on the judgement Throne. We don’t seem to remember that when we die, we can carry nothing with us, else, how do you explain it when people steal money that is more than enough to last them for 2,000 years! We all need to step back a little and think about the means we use to get rich, and to ask ourselves, is it all worth it?

What to Do?

Take a moment to examine what you do to make your money. If you are not able to defend your methods before God, I suggest repenting immediately and restituting where possible.