And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
The previous chapter points to the confusion of the Pharisees, making more of money than of the house of God, the temple.
Matthew 23:16-17 (KJV)
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
Yefools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Here we see the disciples' confusion, making more of the buildings of the temple than of Christ.
There is the secular—the gold.
There is no way to divorce the work of God on earth from the finances needed to do the work.
There is the spiritual—the temple.
I wish to include here the work that is accomplished in the temple. There were priests, musicians, caretakers, and others required to maintain the temple and to perform the ministry there. Finances, while needed for the work of the ministry, are far less important than the actual work of the ministry.
There is the Lord, Jesus Christ.
The tabernacle, and then the temple, were designed by God to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything from the shape of the building, the colors and materials used, the furniture of the temple, and where each was placed, not to mention the sacrifices and the offerings—each was purposefully instituted as a pattern of heavenly things and a picture of Christ.
But finite and corrupt minds tend to blur the lines between the secular, the spiritual, and the Savior. We must learn never to put our secular needs and desires above the spiritual priorities God has placed in our lives. But we must never confuse those priorities as more important than our relationship with Christ. A relationship with Christ will guide us toward these priorities, but maintaining an active spiritual life does not necessarily indicate a right relationship with Christ.
#SecularVsSpiritual #GoldVsTemple #ChristCenteredPriorities #FinancialWisdom #DivineRelationships
Balancing Finances and Ministry: God's Perspective
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