Revelation 18
The draw of the world is
great. The promises of riches, personal comfort and pleasure tempt every
disciple. When contrasted to the life of sacrifice of bearing the cross, of
persecution the invitation of the world can be a very strong allurement. But
like every temptation when we see it in the long term, when examined from the
end we see that it is purely wretched. Jesus said, “What is the profit for a
man if he should gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul.” That is precisely the temptation Jesus faced
in the desert. Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Babylon the
Great offers to disciples all the world has to offer.
As disciples we can't answer
the call of the world's systems and live lives of selfish pursuit. The world
offers wealth and sensuality an earthly life of luxurious and splendid things.
The world offers an economic, social, and cultural system built entirely around
our wants, wishes, and desires. All we must do is to want and to love, and to
pursue selfishness. We have in many cases attempted to blend together wealth
and selfishness with a distorted version of Christianity. Have you noticed we
almost never hear a sermon or teaching about the dangers of wealth, about
selling all in order to care for the poor and following Christ, about the
idolatry of greed or the eternal war between mammon and God? The sin of mammon
is the unmentionable sin. We may hear sermons about all sorts of lurid things,
but Heaven help the one who preaches against the accumulation of wealth. Such a
sermon is unacceptable unless one manages to put in an escape clause, to put a
spin on it that we are not wealthy or the Bible doesn’t really mean all it says
about being selfish. In the American
church we have become very comfortable with living in the sin of selfish
mammon; in fact, we have made it a virtue.
We see in this chapter the
ruin of the one we give ourselves to when we live in greed. The world’s system
of greed and selfishness is completely self-destructive. It is hostile to God
and to his people. The chapter ends with the link between the world of riches
and the blood of the Saints. Let's look at an example. Suppose a nation or
corporation has the choice of fabulous profit in dealing with the regime that
oppresses Christianity or ending that relationship and missing out on that
income. What do you suppose that nation or
corporation would do? In our heart of hearts, we know the answer. We know
because as a nation, in corporations and in our own lives we have often sold
our soul with just a little bit more.
Questions to ponder
When was the last time you
heard a sermon about the pure wickedness of mammon?
When is the last time you
were called to reduce your lifestyle in order to accomplish Kingdom
objectives?
What reaction do you think
your church would have if the people were asked to suspend all non-essential
spending for the rest of their lives to feed poor Christians around the
world?
