December 5

Proverbs 15:16

Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Covetousness beckons us. A neon sign is flashing out in the dark and it says, “The World is Yours”. We want a nicer house, a better car, more money. The American dream is MORE. More what? More everything. But if we had “more”, would we not be like Alexander the Great sitting on the bank of the Ganges River and crying because he had conquered what he thought was the whole world, and there were no more worlds to conquer. But Paul tells us to avoid covetousness, “and be content with such things as you have”. Hebrews 13:5.

But what if you DID gain it all? Jesus said, “What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and LOSE HIS OWN SOUL?” Matthew 16:26. Today’s verse shows us a BETTER WAY. “Better is LITTLE, with the fear of the LORD, than GREAT TREASURE and trouble therewith”. If you just have the bare necessities and along with that you understand the Gospel, you have Jesus in heart, and the joy of the LORD your life, you are far better off than someone who has the temporary pleasures of this FLEETING world, and yet, who does not have the fear and reverence of the LORD in his life, and who can only look forward to an eternity without God and without hope. You may have little of THIS world’s goods, but the fact is…….. IF YOU HAVE JESUS, YOU HAVE IT ALL…….This world and the next.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

"...what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30