Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

But then something quite unexpected comes along and spoils your
plans. The business deal order that you needed fell through, or perhaps
some other businessman cut in and clinched the deal first, ahead of you.
And then you realise how foolish you had been. That high feeling you
felt was just a false sense of security, invincibility and power. It was not
real. Dear reader, material prosperity and wealth have a way of making
a person quite blind to reality. And you must be very careful not to let it
give you false visions of your own greatness. If you are not careful, and
persist in entertaining these false visions in your heart, you may end up
just like the rich fool in this parable, whose big bubble was burst when
God said to him in verse 20, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided?”
In order to help keep you from becoming fools toward God by
entertaining such vain visions in our prosperity, take heed now to three
important guidelines you should follow.
I. Do Not Plan Your Life as if You Will Live
in This World Forever
In verse 19, this rich man made one very great mistake. He said to
himself: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years” (v 19).
Do you see what his mistake was? This man arrogantly assumed that he
would have many more years to live. But God had other plans for
him—he died that very night and never had the chance to carry out his
plans and enjoy his success!
It is sometimes quite frightening to see the way that some people
plan—they plan as if they will go on living forever and ever. They just
assume that they will not die and then take big loans, mortgage their
houses and become indebted to venture out into some big investment.
And when death comes unexpectedly before they can carry out their
plans, they leave their families with the awful burden of paying off the
huge debt.
Please be careful not to make the same mistake. Every time you
seem to do well and think of making further gains, always remind
Worldly Temptations
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