Many of the people of God are stupefied by the spirit of the world, and are denying their faith by their works. They cultivate a love for money, for houses and lands, until it absorbs the powers of mind and being, and shuts out love for the Creator and for souls for whom Christ died. The God of this world has blinded their eyes; their eternal interests are made secondary; and brain, bone, and muscle are taxed to the utmost to increase their worldly possessions. And all this accumulation of cares and burdens is borne in direct violation of the injunction of Christ, who said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.”Matthew 6:19.
(CS 209.1) 3 I
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They forget that He said also, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven;”(Matthew 6:19) that in so doing they are working for their own interest. The treasure laid up in heaven is safe; no thief can approach nor moth corrupt it. But their treasure is upon the earth, and their affections are upon their treasure.
(CS 209.2)
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In the wilderness, Christ met the great leading temptations that would assail man. There, singlehanded, He encountered the wily, subtle foe, and overcame him. The first great temptation was upon appetite; the second, presumption; the third, love of the world. The thrones and kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, were offered to Christ. Satan came with worldly honor, wealth, and the pleasures of life, and presented them in the most attractive light to allure and deceive. “All these things,” said he to Christ, “will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.”Matthew 4:9. Yet Christ repelled the wily foe, and came off victor.
(CS 209.3)
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Man will never be tried by temptations as powerful as those which assailed Christ; yet Satan has better success in approaching him. “All this money, this gain, this land, this power, these honors and riches, will I give thee”—for what? The condition is seldom as plainly stated as it was to Christ,—“If Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” He is content to require that integrity shall be yielded, conscience blunted. Through devotion to worldly interests he receives all the homage he asks. The door is left open for him to enter as he pleases, with his evil train of impatience, love of self, pride, avarice, and dishonesty. Man is charmed, and treacherously allured on to ruin.
(CS 210.1)
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The example of Christ is before us. He overcame Satan, showing us how we also may overcome. Christ resisted Satan with Scripture. He might have had recourse to His own divine power, and used His own words; but He said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”Matthew 4:4. If the Sacred Scriptures were studied and followed, the Christian would be fortified to meet the wily foe; but the word of God is neglected, and disaster and defeat follow.
(CS 210.2)
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A young man came to Christ, and said, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”(Matthew 19:16) Jesus bade him keep the commandments. He replied, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?”(Matthew 19:20) Jesus looked with love upon the young man, and faithfully pointed out to him his deficiency in keeping the divine law. He did not love his neighbor as himself. His selfish love of riches was a defect, which, if not remedied, would debar him from heaven. “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.”Matthew 19:21.
(CS 210.3)
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The works of those who have an insane love for riches, make it evident that it is impossible to serve two masters, God and mammon. They show to the world that money is their god. They yield their homage to its power, and to all intents and purposes they serve the world. The love of money becomes a ruling power, and for its sake they violate the law of God. They may profess the religion of Christ, but they do not love its principles, or heed its admonitions. They give their best strength to serve the world, and they bow to mammon.
(CS 214.1)
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It is alarming that so many are deluded by Satan. He excites the imagination with brilliant prospects of worldly gain, and men become infatuated, and think that before them is a prospect of perfect happiness. They are lured on by the hope of obtaining honor and riches and position. Satan says to the soul, “All this will I give thee, all this power and wealth with which you may do good to your fellow men;”Luke 4:6. but when the object for which they seek is gained, they find themselves with no connection with the self-denying Redeemer; they are not partakers of the divine nature. They hold to earthly treasures, and despise the requirements of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and humiliation for the truth’s sake. They have no desire to part with the dear earthly treasure upon which their heart is set. They have exchanged masters, and accepted the service of mammon instead of the service of Christ. Satan has secured to himself the worship of these deceived souls through the love of worldly treasure.
(CS 214.2) 3 I
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It is often found that the change from godliness to worldliness has been made so imperceptibly by the wily insinuations of the evil one, that the deceived soul is not aware that he has parted company with Christ, and is His servant only in name.—The Review and Herald, September 23, 1890.
(CS 214.3)
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