The Gods of This World

In 2 Chronicles 25 we read how Amaziah, king of Judah, went to battle and defeated the Edomites.
He returned home with the “loot”, which included their gods.
So, for some reason, even though those gods hadn’t been able to stop him defeating the Edomites, he set them up in his own house as his own gods. (Instead of Yahweh).

That didn’t turn out too well for him.

It got me thinking, … what are the gods of this world?
How have we as Christians taken them into our own houses and set them up for ourselves?

#1 would be money?

In Australia where I live, houses are ridiculously expensive.
Almost everyone borrows a huge mortgage to buy one, and then spends almost all their income for twenty years paying it back.
Just so they can own a house.
But not just any house. Houses here are bigger than they are in most countries. And modern. Flashy.
They want to show off their house. There is a lot of pride in houses here.
Because house prices have been steadily increasing for decades, there is the view that they always will.
So people pay way more than they are really worth, because they think it will be worth even more in the future.
They don’t want to miss out.

On the stock market too, I also see a lot of businesses which are valued way above where they should be based on their income, and their assets. There is a lot of speculation about how much a company might be worth one day if things go well for it, and today’s price actually reflects the price that investors think it might be worth in the future. They don’t want to miss out.

We’re all about money.
We’re all about being “successful”.

BTW: When Amaziah was going to fight Ephraim, the prophet told him not to go because Yahweh wasn’t with him.
His answer? “But I already spent 100 talents on the army”.
You can tell where his heart was.

And, in fact, we seem to be very much about being seen to be successful.
(Even if we’re not).

Like Hong Kong people and their cars. (No disrespect to HK, but just an observation).
Hong Kongers always drive expensive cars, Mercedes, BMW, that kind of car.
They wouldn’t be seen dead in a 10 year old Ford.
Because if they did that, people would know they didn’t have lots of money and their business wasn’t as successful as it seems.
So even if they really can’t afford it, they buy a luxury car.
It’s all about the appearance of wealth.

There is honestly nothing wrong with being wealthy. Abraham was wealthy. David was wealthy.
It’s your attitude to it that turns it into a god.

Yeshua was pretty clear. He said, “You cannot worship Yahweh and money.”
Cannot.
You have to choose.

If you chose money then you did not choose Yahweh.
You cannot choose both.


	The Gods of This World
READING 2 Chronicles 25 Matthew 6 Proverbs 15 Luke 12 Phillipians 4 My god will fulfil your every need, according to his riches in glory in Anointed Yeshua	In 2 Chronicles 25 we read how Amaziah, king of Judah, went to battle and defeated the Edomites. He returned home with the “loot”, which included their gods. So, for some reason, even though those gods hadn’t been able to stop him defeating the Edomites, he set them up in his own house as his own gods. (Instead of Yahweh). That didn’t turn out too well for him. It got me thinking, … what are the gods of this world? How have we as Christians taken them into our own houses and set them up for ourselves? #1 would be money? In Australia where I live, houses are ridiculously expensive. Almost everyone borrows a huge mortgage to buy one, and then spends almost all their income for twenty years paying it back. Just so they can own a house. But not just any house. Houses here are bigger than they are in most countries. And modern. Flashy. They want to show off their house. There is a lot of pride in houses here. Because house prices have been steadily increasing for decades, there is the view that they always will. So people pay way more than they are really worth, because they think it will be worth even more in the future. They don’t want to miss out. On the stock market too, I also see a lot of businesses which are valued way above where they should be based on their income, and their assets. There is a lot of speculation about how much a company might be worth one day if things go well for it, and today’s price actually reflects the price that investors think it might be worth in the future. They don’t want to miss out. We’re all about money. We’re all about being “successful”. BTW: When Amaziah was going to fight Ephraim, the prophet told him not to go because Yahweh wasn’t with him. His answer? “But I already spent 100 talents on the army”. You can tell where his heart was. And, in fact, we seem to be very much about being seen to be successful. (Even if we’re not). Like Hong Kong people and their cars. (No disrespect to HK, but just an observation). Hong Kongers always drive expensive cars, Mercedes, BMW, that kind of car. They wouldn’t be seen dead in a 10 year old Ford. Because if they did that, people would know they didn’t have lots of money and their business wasn’t as successful as it seems. So even if they really can’t afford it, they buy a luxury car. It’s all about the appearance of wealth. There is honestly nothing wrong with being wealthy. Abraham was wealthy. David was wealthy. It’s your attitude to it that turns it into a god. Yeshua was pretty clear. He said, “You cannot worship Yahweh and money.” Cannot. You have to choose. If you chose money then you did not choose Yahweh. You cannot choose both.