That is just one of the thousands of things God has revealed through His Word. You’ve heard it, you know it, but do you believe it? How’s your secondary faith? It is in proportion to your primary faith. If you really believe in Him, then that truth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will grip you and change your whole behavior. If you really love God, you can’t be a materialist. You wouldn’t worry about paying your bills, you’d trust the Lord to provide. You would not be concerned about what you would eat or what you would wear, only heathens and publicans do that, Jesus said (Matthew 6:31 and 32). Six times Jesus forbids us to worry about material things in Matthew 6: Jesus says, "Your heavenly Father knows you have need of these things." The worldling says, "I have to fend for myself."
On a preaching assignment in Las Vegas recently, I saw, even in the airport, slot machines with people avariciously pulling at the "one-armed bandits," plugging in their money. We stopped for a hamburger on the way from the airport and my host said to me - in contrast to what I had just seen, "I wish I didn’t have to have money. I wish I could give it all away. I’m tired of fighting this worry of how to pay taxes and how to pay the bills. If I could just be free. I envy you, Father, for your freedom. You’ve taken a vow of poverty, you don’t worry about these things. You give to the Community and they give you back what you need. No worry." He threw his money on the counter to pay for the burgers as if to say, "Thank God I got rid of some more filthy lucre!"
His desire was to become disengaged from the things of the world. Isn’t it crazy, all this grabbing for money? In Las Vegas, many people are intoxicated with money-hunger, waiting for that jackpot. People who watch game shows by the hour gush, "Ooh, they won a new refrigerator; ooh, they won a new car, oooooh!"
Authentic Christians realize that they are only stewards of God’s treasures. That is one effect of secondary faith. They are not materialists in the grip of money. They are Christians in the secure grip of God’s love! Hence their primary faith is reflected in this and every other form of secondary faith.
Next Installment: Measuring Maturity do we shop around or do we fully buy into our faith?