How you overcome the temptation of money?
Make heaven your first priority. Matt 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV). Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1Tim 6:11-15). Let your desire be for God. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Love with all your strength also. (Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). Love God, not money.
Jesus said you cannot serve God and money (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13b). Unfortunately when Jesus said so in Luke 16:13b to round off his parables, verse 14 says, the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, who had heard his sayings derided Him. Lovers of money always scoff or laugh it spiritual things. Their focus is this world and things of this world but 1 John 2:17 says the world is passing away, and the lust of it but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Keep eternity in focus. Any money or business you have to possess by losing your grip on eternal life is not worth it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36 NKJV). Why should you gain the world and lose your soul? Let that money or business go. When people are possessed by the love of money, eternal life does not mean anything to them. They don’t value it.
First, I must have salvation from Christ and repent of my sins. I cannot stress that enough. Once I have done that and put my full trust in Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit indwells me and I am able to overcome most (though not all) sin.
The temptation of money is something I have little difficulty with as I live below poverty level. The Lord has decreed I become housebound, which makes it even easier to resist the temptation of money. Furthermore, I shut off my “boob tube” (television) and Netflix and all these worldly forms of entertainment.
Most days I spend in the Word of God (The Holy Bible) and in community online with other believers. I try to be of help when I can, and to proclaim God’s Word from social networks - all that I am connected to.
Also, a small but important thing, I use an ad-blocker.
When I have not enough money to buy extras, and am removed from all these “heavy advertising” things from television to wandering around stores to using an ad-blocker online and only following those who preach from the Bible or believe in it as do I, there IS NO temptation for money.
I hear, all around me, people of all kinds, both believers and non-believers, complaining about advertisements. Their televisions sell more than entertain yet they pay high prices for this so-called “service”.
I cannot claim that I have set out purposefully to end up in this position. But I count it as blessing from God as I am removed from nearly all of it.
This is not something I can “recommend” to anyone, as one does not become housebound on purpose.
All I can report to account for it, is that I am following Christ’s two commandments (not perfectly, as I have to repent daily for some sin, though nothing to what I used to commit) to the best of my ability:
- Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength
and - Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
And God has done the rest.
MY RECOMMENDATION: Follow those two commandments with everything in you, pray that God will help you to actually do so, keep your eyes on Christ, read your Bible, and far more than just the temptation of money will be removed from you. But take heart: God is VERY creative, and will not do to you the same things He has done to me, excepting one: He WILL remove your sin from you and help you to follow Him. Not to mention, you will also have everlasting life.
Not only temptation of money but also any temptation we can draw the power from the Word of God to overcome…
Put down all our self desires, thoughts, will and understanding the take the thoughts and ways of God, the ways of God amazing and the thoughts of God so high like heavens
We need use God’s words like Jesus used in the Bible.
I used to worry about money until I had to face the problems of life and solve them by myself. During that time, I took a part time job, in which i really experienced God’s blessings to me.I believe from that time that God would really provice for my needs, and I stopped worrying about it .
By the faith to the Word of God.