Proverbs 23:6-8 says, ”Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, and waste your pleasant words.”
Here is a warning that the Holy Spirit gave to us through Solomon for us to avoid the selfishness of materialistic people because of their insincerity. They are not to be trusted by the one who trusts in God because of the difference in values. Solomon says “his heart is not with you.” Their generosity toward you is for their own selfish gain and can cause you to lose what you have that is far more important and more valuable than their worldly wealth.
Jesus had to deal with insincere, dishonest people all the while He was on earth, until they finally managed to get Him crucified. In Matt. 22:15-46, He was tested several times by people who pretended to really care about the Truth in His Words. They came to Him pretending to be sincere, asking Him questions which were really snares intended for the purpose of trapping Him in His talk and making Him to appear like a law-breaker instead of the fulfiller of God’s law that He really was. They didn’t want the people to hear Him. In Matt. 15:8,9, He was referring to these very people when He said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
In Matt. 23, He referred to them over and over as “hypocrites”. They were people pretending to be something they were not in order to satisfy their own pride, and lust for power and money. In Luke 16:14,15, it says, “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’” Jesus knew it was their love of money and power that made them jealous (Mark 15:10) and insincere.
If you truly love the Lord and His Word, and if your sincere aim is to be with Him in eternity, don’t put your trust in money, and especially don’t put your trust in materialistic people who are “minded to be rich” when it comes to learning and understanding God’s will for your life. Read 1 Tim. 6:3-10, and remember, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Put your trust in God and His Word in the Bible. If you are sincere, and heaven truly is your goal for the next life, He won’t let you down. The path might be difficult, and the gate is “narrow” (Matt. 7:13,14) because there is a cross to bear. It is the cross of obedience (Matt. 16:24) that He, Himself, had to bear (Heb. 5:8,9). The only difference is, He was nailed to His.
Timothy Sundlie
Preacher/Evangelist for the La Crosse church of Christ