Timothy 6. And I'll be reading verses 6-10 and then 17-19. But we're considering this morning, again, the 8th commandment. Exodus 20, verse 15, Thou shalt not steal. Let's listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6. Verse 6, But 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 raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil. which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." And then verse 17, "...charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life." And then, Ephesians 4.28, "'Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth." Thus ends the reading of God's holy and inspired Word. Again, we return to a lengthy series on the Ten Commandments. We've considered the first table last year, and this year, the second half of this year, we've been considering the second table of the Law, Commandments 5. We've looked at the sanctity of authority, the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and now we're in the 8th commandment and we're considering the sanctity of property. Last Lord's Day, I encouraged us to consider just how our economy is affected by the violation of this commandment. I found this week that the United States Chamber of Commerce estimates that more than 33% of employees regularly steal from their companies. And this isn't speaking about stealing of time. This is about stealing of goods or of monies that they take in. One third, they also report that One of every three business failures is a direct result of employee theft. According to the Department of Commerce, employee dishonesty costs American business in excess of $50 billion a year. I know in the company that I work for, nobody wants to talk about employee theft. They're afraid to touch it for fear of inciting morale issues. They know it goes on, but they don't really want to openly discuss it because of the concerns that it will just increase it and just create more of it, more trouble. Now, this morning, the last Lord's Day, we looked at those things that are forbidden in this commandment. This morning, I want us to consider the duties required in this commandment, and I want to use Ephesians 4.28 as a helpful a way to frame our thoughts. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." We're going to consider first stealing no more, then we're going to consider laboring, and then we're going to consider giving. Stealing no more, laboring, and giving. Let's consider stealing no more. To stop stealing, we have to first recognize where we are stealing. So we must be involved in self-examination. We must recognize where we're stealing. And the reality is, is because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and no man can know it, the reality is many of us steal and aren't consciously aware of it. And so we have to bring our behavior to the light of God's Word. We have to ask for insight and we have to see, are we in fact stealing from people? Two examples of stealing that I failed to mention last week that are very, very common in our society. One is the violation of copyrights. It's very easy in this day and age to copy something from tape, from CD, download from the computer, the internet. And Christians are doing. And so we need to be concerned about that. Do you have copyrighted material that you haven't paid for in your home? You need to ask the question. Are you using and enjoying somebody's talents that you're not paying for? And another area that we waste, and particularly I speak to you children regarding this area, is waste and waste by carelessness. Are you careless with your possessions or your parents' possessions in such a way that you increase the likelihood of damaging them and your parents having to replace them, your father having to replace that possession, that toy, that door that you slam, whatever it may be? That's stealing. Just two examples, but there's many, many more. We looked at 38 ways to violate this commandment last Lord's Day. And I think most of us, if we considered all 38, would recognize some area where we are guilty. So we need to examine ourselves. But then secondly, we need to steal no more. We need to stop doing it. Thirdly, we need to return what we've stolen. We don't stop. just stealing anymore, we have to return that which we have stolen. We need to give restitution. The principle of restitution is spoken of in Exodus 21, verse 9, Exodus 22, 7, Leviticus 6, 2 and following. It's also referred to in Ezekiel and Daniel. We see it practiced by Zacchaeus when he comes to faith in Luke 19.8. Zacchaeus says, "...the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore to him fourfold." Zacchaeus was a wealthy man. He says, I'm going to give half of my money away to the poor. I'm going to distribute half of my money to the poor. And then of that other half, I know that some of that I've acquired by theft. I'm going to return that portion of that that I've acquired by theft. I'm going to return it fourfold. So the commentators say that there's not only restitution on the part of Zacchaeus, but also distribution. He's doing more than just giving back to those that he's stolen from. He's also giving to the poor. Augustine said this, he said, without restitution, there is no remission. In other words, restitution is part and parcel of true repentance. Are you really repenting from something if you're not willing to pay back what you've stolen? I would counsel that if you've identified that you've stolen something, that you ought to pay it back immediately if at all possible. Don't work out a payment plan if you can in any way pay it back. Pay it back immediately and suffer the consequences. Feel the pain of it if need be, but pay it back and pay it back speedily. In Zechariah 1-5, we read of a curse of God, a scroll of a curse that will be upon the house of those that make a false oath and that are thieves. If you have stolen goods in your home, you will pay for them and you will pay dearly, God says through Zechariah. It will cost you everything. God will bring to naught your possessions and your wealth. if you have something that you've acquired unlawfully and are not prepared in repentance to return it to its proper owner. So first, steal no more. Secondly, labor. In other words, seek to attain wealth or possessions and seek to do so lawfully. But rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good. Paul says, working with his hands the thing which is good. He's not suggesting that manual labor is the only kind of labor that's valid, but what he's saying is that even intellectual type labor still often involves the hands, it still involves the body at some level. There's no such thing as complete intellectual labor that doesn't involve the expenditure of energies physically. And it often comes down to the hand where the work actually is carried out, nonetheless, or the voice or what have you. And so, he's speaking of a lawful calling. Working the thing which is good. Not working the thing that is bad just to get by and to make a fortune or to support your family, but working the thing which is good, that's profitable to society in general. So we need to work in a lawful calling. Secondly, I think it's required that we work for a sufficient time. We live in a leisure society. God says in Exodus 20, verse 9, "...six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." Idleness, as I said last week from Melanchthon, he said, idleness is the devil's workshop. You've all heard that proverb. It's true. Now, I've had situations where I've counseled men that have a lot of spare time in the workplace. They may be working at a desk job, a computer analyst or whatever, sitting, waiting at the help desk. I've ran into men that love theology and would choose to study theology during that time. But on several occasions, I've encouraged men in that position that it might be more profitable for them to labor to improve their skills so they could provide for their family more in the future. Because they were struggling providing for their family. And so I would contend that we ought to work a full week. And if we don't have work, we ought to be working a full week finding work, or we ought to be working a full work week, work week, provide or preparing ourselves to be able to find a job to work a full week. work week. Now, obviously, six days shalt thou labor doesn't mean you have to go in and work for the company that you work for six weeks, but it does suggest that there's other work that you have to be involved in. You have to maintain your possessions, your home, other things that you possess. You have to take care of them. So, most of you know what it's like to work on Saturday in your own yard, maintaining your own home or whatever else you're trying to maintain that God has graciously given you. We need to do that. Consider Proverbs 24, verses 30-34. I won't turn there, but Solomon there contemplates viewing the field of the slothful. He looks out there and sees the way the slothful's maintaining his estate. And he sees that the man's not taking care of what God's given him. And thus, he's not improving or increasing the value of what he has, but through failure of slothfulness, he's decreasing the value and the usefulness of the things that he possesses. So, we need to work for a sufficient time. But thirdly, we need to work diligently. Remember what it says in Genesis 2.15. And the Lord God took the man, took Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Have you ever considered that labor was ordained of God before the fall? That's how good it is. Yes, it will be by the sweat of the brow since the fall that man will acquire lawfully the things that God would give him. Man, even before the fall, was to labor to God's glory. That's why Paul can be so strong in 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 6 and verses 10-12. There were a number there at the church of Thessalonica that had become so spiritual, they were so convinced of the Lord's imminent return, they thought they'd quit their jobs, stop working, so let somebody else support them while they could give themselves to the Lord and the study of His Word and to fellowship and whatever else. He says, but no, they became busybodies. His point is you're going to be busy about something. And if you're not busy about your own things, you're going to start encroaching into other people's things. You're going to have plenty of time on your hands to worry about other people. And if we spent more time laboring and caring properly for our own things, we have a lot less time to be involved in worrying about others. Now, the Proverbs are replete with Proverbs concerning the work of a man and to work diligently. Proverbs 6, 6-11, 13-4, 22-29 are just several examples. In Proverbs 10.4, we read, "...the hand of the diligent maketh rich." In Colossians 3.22-25, Paul speaks to slaves. He tells them how they ought to labor for their masters and not doing it just to please their masters. They ought to look beyond their masters to their supreme master, to the Lord God Himself. They ought to labor for their earthly master in light of the fact that they're ultimately laboring for their Heavenly Father. That's the way we ought to carry out the labor that God has called us to. Paul speaks again in Titus 2 verses 9 and 10 to those that are called to labor for others. And at the end of verse 10, he says that they're to do this. And we are to do what we do in the workplace as well as the women that work at home and whatever you're calling, children as you work, preparing for a calling in school. We're to do all these things diligently that, he says, they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. You see, Christians ought to look obvious in the workplace. They ought to be obvious in the school, in the neighborhood. The diligence in which they work ought to be evident. They ought to be adorning the gospel. They ought to be putting the gospel on like clothing. And people will see there's something different about Christians. We live in a society where that's no longer the case. It's rare that someone can distinguish a Christian from a non-Christian regarding their work ethic. Generally, the Puritan work ethic, for the most part, has been lost in our nation. Now, it still exists, I think. I think if you go to Sweden, And other nations like that, you will see that there still is a work ethic here that is different than Eastern Europe and some other places in the world. And yet, at the same time, there are other nations that hold false religions who bring shame to us regarding the work ethic that they maintain to serve their false gods. And so we ought to consider that and we ought to remember that we are to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in our labor. So first, we're to steal no more. Secondly, to relabor. Third, we're to give or we're to lawfully dispense our wealth and possessions. Paul says that he may have to give to him that needeth. Now, I'm going to set these six types of giving in a particular order, and I'm doing that for a reason. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16, 1 and 2, that we're to lay aside each Lord's Day that which God has given us. That's what we've purposed in our heart to give unto Him. And I think clearly Paul's saying as soon as you can, when you've acquired some profit, as soon as you can, the next Lord's Day, give what you're going to give to the Lord to Him. Don't wait. Don't save it up. but do it as fetally as you can. And so we'll begin with the fact that we're to give God His due. Proverbs 3.9, honor the Lord with thy substance. Remember I read from Malachi 3 last week, God asked the rhetorical question, will a man rob God? And He informs the people of God at that time that they were robbing Him. They were robbing Him in tithes and offerings. He then calls them to bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in My house." Consider the words of God through Haggai. Haggai speaking to the people of God shortly after they had returned under Zerubbabel's leadership in those early chapters of Ezra. They've come back to build the temple, and now they're discouraged in that building. There are hurdles that have to be overcome. Their morale is down. And God speaks to them through the prophet Haggai and then Zechariah. And Haggai, in the first prophecy of Haggai, he says in verse 6, "...Ye have sown much, and bring in little." And then God goes on and He asks, "...Why?" saith the Lord of Hosts. Why is this the fact? And he gives them the answer, "...because of mine house that is waste. And ye run every man unto his own house." Listen, the problem is, the reason why you're having a hard time making it is you're short-cutting me. You came here originally to build my house again. And now you're more concerned about yourselves. And as you get stingy and be more concerned about yourselves, I'm just taking more and more away from you. The budget's getting tighter and tighter and you're just being stingier and stingier. God's saying that dynamic has got to change. So we need to give God His due first. Secondly, we need to give to the magistrate His due. Romans 13.7, render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Now it would be nice if we all knew exactly how much we owed the magistrate. And if that percentage was the same no matter if we made $20,000 or $200,000 this year. That'd be nice. Then we could know, based on whether we were increasing, how much more we'd give to God, how much more we could enjoy God's profit ourselves and give to others. I spoke a little bit about theft regarding state taxing us where they shouldn't. And clearly, I would also say that I think the progressive income tax itself is sinful. It is one of the ten planks of the Communist Manifesto. And we as a nation hold to more than half of those planks at present. So, by a majority, we're communistic. But nonetheless, Paul calls the Roman church, the church at Rome at that time, to give to those that are to, even to heathen rulers over them. were to give to provide for our own family, and that would include ourselves. I'm speaking particularly here of necessities. Providing for ourselves and our family and our necessities. 1 Timothy 5.8, But if any man provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Here Paul uses natural revelation. He says even the pagan knows that it's his duty to take care of his own. He says that's why when a professed Christian doesn't, he's denied the faith. You may ask him if he believes in the Trinity. You may ask him about the two natures of Christ. He may be, in that sense, doctrinally accurate, and yet if he's not prepared to support his family, he's denied the faith. He doesn't have a credible profession of faith. Paul says he's worse than an infidel. Because he says he is concerned and he lives for Christ, and yet by his behavior he's not living for Christ. We are called to provide for our own. Paul certainly here in the context is speaking not only of our restricted sense of our home in terms of our wives, wife, and children, but he's also speaking about the fact that we may have to care for our parents, or parents' parents, or grandparents, others that are in need in our family line. And Paul is bringing out the fact that the church is not to enter into the support of the needy prior to the family doing all it can to support. The needy. So, there's a priority there. Paul never mentions the civil magistrate in the care of the poor, though. It's family first, then the church. Think of Psalm 128, too. The man that fears God will be blessed, the psalmist says, because thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. It's pleasing to God to earn a good living and to enjoy what you've earned. It's not sinful. It's a blessing of God. And we should do that consistent with our place and our station, what God has given us, the vocation we're called to. What might be appropriate for a dinner party for a senator might not be appropriate for us to throw. Also involved in this would include savings. We should save because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. And in this line, I think it's important to mention the danger of consumer debt. Proverbs 22.7, the borrower is servant to the lender. It's the first principle of economics. Certainly if it's not the first, it's one of the foundational principles of economics and yet it's a principle that most of the high and mighty economists of our day deny. How many economists are encouraging our representatives, our elected representatives regarding this principle? Doesn't it speak to us about the national debt? We're going to end up being served We are servants to somebody. This needs to be taken seriously nationally. It needs to be taken seriously in our own homes. If you want to provide for your family and you're spending more than you're making to give them what you think they need now, you're just hindering them and yourself in the future. Very short-sighted. It's not to say there may not be occasions when someone has to enter into debt. That's not the point. But principally, when you're stable, you ought not to be spending more than you're making. And that will hinder you in the future. We also need to save for our children, whether it's for their education, to prepare them more completely for the task of doing battle with their enemies in the gates or providing for them some starter money so that they can, particularly our sons, to start a business, some business capital. Clearly in the agricultural society of the Old Testament, that was very, very important. And Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 12.14. There he talks about the fact that it's not children that should be saving for their parents, it's parents that should be saving for their children. So this is all part of our provision for our family, and this is related to necessities. But fourthly, we give our families moderate pleasures to enjoy, and that would include ourselves. Psalm 104, verse 15 speaks of, wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine. We don't need something to drink that tastes nice, that's a little bit more expensive than water. We don't absolutely need it, do we? Whether it's wine or whether it's even something beyond water. And yet we can partake of it. We can have some oil. We can anoint ourselves. We can put on some cologne or perfume. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6.17, as we just read, in the midst of speaking to the rich, and telling them to be careful not to trust in their riches, he speaks of God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. In the midst of warning the rich against the temptation that they will have to trust in what they have, Paul nonetheless doesn't want to sidestep the truth that God gives us richly all things to enjoy. They're sanctified by the Word and prayer, Paul says. God's told us that they're good. We ought to receive them as such and thank God for them. And then they're sanctified in their use to us as believers. We've considered Solomon's statements in Ecclesiastes several years ago. Ecclesiastes 2, 24 and 3, 18. Now, obviously, all this must be with moderation. Paul tells us in Philippians 4, 5, that we're to let our moderation be displayed because the time is near. We read of moderation in Titus 2, 11 and 12. We're to live soberly and righteously in this present age. There's to be sobriety about these enjoyments. But at the same time, we're to avoid miserliness. So, we're to avoid extremes on both ends. Solomon speaks in Proverbs 13, 7 of the rich man or the one that appears rich that is in fact poor. I would contend there's a lot of those people that are living on their credit cards. They appear a lot richer than they really are. But he also speaks about those that appear poor and in fact are rich. I think he's setting the two extremes that neither is healthy. We obviously don't need to flaunt our wealth. But at the same time, it's not inappropriate at times for it to be recognized. So we need to be careful and avoid extremes at this point. Now, to the wealthy in our midst or those that may hear this some other time. If you have concerns about this, if you have a hard time balancing this and the appropriateness of it and demonstrating moderation, then I'd recommend this. Consider it moving number four here in order. Give you and your family moderate pleasures. Move it to number six and put number five and six before it. In other words, after you've met all the necessities, then give courteous hospitality and give relief to the poor and then what's left over. Consider how it can be wisely expended on things beyond necessities for yourself and your family to God's glory. We are, fifthly, to give courteous hospitality. Paul says in Colossians 6.10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Now here, when I use the word hospitality, I'm speaking about just common courtesy giving. I don't mean that it's necessarily food or it's necessarily a warm bed. It may be a book. It may be something that we're just not chintzy at every point. When we see somebody that needs something, we're willing to do it. If we go to lunch with somebody and they only have $3, but they really want the $7 meal, we get it for them. We don't think about getting the $4 back the next day or the next week. But it includes just not being stingy in that way. Hebrews 13.2, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. So, I'm not here to tell you that people that you don't know, that you open your home to may be in fact angels and you don't know it. I don't think that's what it's getting at. But what it's saying is angels are present. Paul says angels are present in the corporate worship of God in 1 Corinthians 11. Angels see what goes on. And they're aware of our good works just as our Father is. Think of the example of Abraham in Genesis 18 or the example of Lot in Genesis 19. They were ready to be hospitable to people that came forward. Abraham at first didn't recognize that he was being hospitable to angels. Here probably one of the wealthiest men in the world at that time has three men show up and he goes out of his way. He's serving them himself. He has no clue that they're necessarily higher in the socio-economic structure than he. And yet he humbles himself and serves them. Treats them as his better. It says something to us. at this point. Sixthly, we ought to give relief to the poor and the needy. Deuteronomy 15.7-11 speaks clearly of that. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 25.35. Psalm 112 speaks of the blessing that accrues to the godly man. In verse 5 it says, "...a good man showeth favor and lendeth. He will guide his affairs with discretion." The reason This good man can show favor and lend us because he's guided his affairs with discretion. He has a little pocket change for the needy. He's worked out his budget so that there's a little bit extra at the edges of the field, so to speak, so that when somebody has a little need, he can meet it. He's not on the very edge himself, so that when somebody needs to borrow a little bit, he can't help. Because he's got himself strapped to the max. Because I want to say in verse 9, "...he hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor. His righteousness endureth forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor." That's the blessing that accrues to the generous man. Clearly, that's the focus here of 1 Timothy 6, 17-19 that we've just read. Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 25-40, what He says He'll say in the last day to those that have given a cup of water to those that were in need. He says He'll bless them inasmuch because He says it's been done unto Me. Consider the promise of Christ in Luke 6, 30-38. There, he's speaking about the man who is generous and who is merciful in contrast to one that's not merciful. He speaks about his giving as well as his lack of judgmental attitude. He says in verse 38, and it shall be given unto you." Good measure. Pressed down and shaken together and running over. He's picturing this in an agricultural setting, a measure of some sort, agriculturally. It's pressed down so more can be on it. It's shaken together. Have you ever seen somebody, if you bought a milkshake or something, occasionally you might find somebody will actually shake it down so you don't get a whole lot of air in that cup. It's shaken down. It's pressed down. That's the way God gives to the generous. He shakes it, He presses it down, and He puts it pouring over. It's running over. He puts as much on the top as it'll hold. He doesn't trim it off right at the top. It's up to the very top, as much as that container can hold. That's the way our God gives generously to those that give. Now, in closing and in summary, Let me just review, and let me review with a quote from George Wesley. You won't hear George Wesley quoted a whole lot from this pulpit, but he did say this, Make as much as you can, save as much as you can, give as much as you can. Very basic proverb, but very sound. Make as much as you can. Does that sound biblical? might not at first blush, consider the answer to Shorter Catechism Question 74 that asks, what are the duties required in this commandment? The answer that the men of Westminster gave is this, the Eighth Commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. We're allowed, we should, We're called to further our wealth and the wealth of others. We're to work diligently so that we might have to provide for ourselves and to give to others. What are the kind of attitudes that we need to maintain as we're acquiring and maintaining the wealth that God has given us or the possessions that God has given us? I want to mention four. First, we need to acknowledge God's hand in obtaining them. Deuteronomy 8, 10-20, God deals with that, but especially in verse 80, He says, "...thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that giveth thee the power to get wealth." You're going to go into the promised land. You're going to get all kinds of things you didn't work very hard to get. They're all going to be given to you. You're not even going to have to work very hard militarily. It's going to come very easy to you. You're going to go in, take that land, and that land's going to be yours. And you're going to forget that I gave it to you. And that's how that apostasy began. By God's people failing to thank God for what He had given them. And that dynamic continues over and over again, and I believe will continue over and over again through church history. As people are converted and brought to the true religion, and as they begin to give to God, and God blesses them, and they work diligently, and they're frugal with their money, they don't waste it on things they ought not. They seek to provide for the next generation. They have a generational outlook. They're not just concerned about themselves and the church in this generation. They're concerned about the church and their family in the next. God will prosper them. But what too often happens at that stage is they become proud. They forget to thank God. They begin to enjoy their wealth in a way that's not lawful. The world creeps in as they begin to expend their monies on things they ought not and their minds are drawn away into the world. And then God brings formalism and apostasy. And the church falls from God. And it's happened over and over and over again in the history of the church. In the inspired record of church history as well in the uninspired record of church history. So we must remember that as Paul says, every creature, in other words, everything that God has created is good and nothing is to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4.4 Do you pray and thank God for every meal that you eat? Before something hits your mouth, do you thank the Lord for it? And do you do it just out of habit or have you forgotten Really should be going on in your heart of hearts as you're thanking God? Has it just become rote and perfunctory? I think most of us have to acknowledge that it has. It's made me consider whether we as a family shouldn't begin to thank the Lord every time I get a paycheck. Whether that's weekly or monthly or quarterly or annually, When God provides, isn't that an appropriate time in family worship to thank God for that provision? Because the provision is much more than the food that we eat. That's just a small section, a small portion of the way that God provides for us. We thank Him for that, woefully and adequately, but we do. How about all the other provision that God gives us? When do we thank Him for all that provision? So we're to acknowledge God's hand in the obtaining of possessions or wealth. We're to take care of the things God's given us. In Proverbs 12.27 we read, "...the substance of the diligent man is precious." It doesn't mean that the diligent man is idolatrous towards the thing that he possesses. No, what he's suggesting is he recognizes he's the steward of those things. They're presently his. God's given them to him, so he needs to take care of them. He's responsible for the estate he has. To squander it would be sin. To waste it would be sin. So we're to take care of the things we possess, and yet we're not to trust in them. We're to maintain this eternal perspective that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 7.31. He says there that we as Christians must use the world as not abusing it. We must use it to God's glory, but we must not be caught up in it, is what Paul is getting at. And he gives the reason why this is the case. It's a clause of purpose for the fashion of this world passeth away. This is an eternal. So use it, but don't get caught up in it because it's not going away. That's what Paul's getting at. Take care of the things you have, but don't trust in the things you have. And lastly, be content with what you have. Paul says in Philippians 4, 11 and 12, he had learned to be content with a lot or a little. He said, thanks for the gift. It's going to come in handy. And yet at the same time, I'd get along without it. It's not going to change his life. His life wasn't changed by what he had or what he didn't have. Our lives ought not to change whether our incomes were increased twofold or tenfold next week or cut in half or cut by 90% next week. Our lives substantially would not change. We'd still be God's children and God would still provide for us. We need to remember that. Paul says in Hebrews 13.5, let your conversation or your lifestyle be without covetousness. In the way that you live, demonstrate you're not covetous and be content with such things as ye have for another purpose. He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. We've got it all in Christ. How can we be worried? about the extras or how much of the extra we have. We've got everything in Him and therefore the things of this world do not matter. Thomas Watson said this, theft is the daughter of avarice. Avarice is the desire to have something we don't have. Theft is the daughter of it. He says, study contentment. Believe that condition best which God has carved out to you. That's what contentment is. Believing that what God's given you is exactly what's best for you. You see, in denying that is raising a fist at Almighty God. That's what it's doing. It's saying to God, I'm smarter than you. I know what I need better than you do. A very grievous sin before Almighty God. How can we be prevented from this? We need to pray with the psalmist in Psalm 30, verse 8. We need to pray it and mean it. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me. Remove far from me vanity and lies. As I consider those words, brought to remembrance, it reminded me of current advertising schemes. What are they but vanity and lies? You have this car. You buy this cologne. If you have these clothes, you're going to be a happy person. Everything will be wonderful for you. You'll have all blessing and felicity and joy if you just have this car. If you just have whatever they're selling you. Vanity and lies. Remove me far from those things. Remove those things from me. Don't let those things have any attachment in my thinking, in my disposition. Give me neither poverty nor riches. In other words, provide for me, but don't give me more than I can handle. In other words, feed me with food convenient for me. Give me exactly what I can handle and what I need for my growth. Embrace. Let us pray. Our great God and Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy holy Word. We thank Thee that Thy Word and Thy commands are indeed exceeding broad. Help us to rightly understand our duty in regard to this commandment. Help us to see what it implies regarding the things that we ought to be doing and help us to do so, O God. Feed us with that food that is convenient for us. Provide for us as Thou hast done in the past and provide for us, O Lord, just what Thou hast ordained for our good and grant to us in that giving a delight in receiving that which has been given and a contentment recognizing that Thou hast given us exactly what we need. We ask these things in Christ's most precious name. Amen.