0112 – The Cost of Pursuing Wealth and Success 追求财富和成功的代价

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) But those who DESIRE to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (emphasis added)In a materialistic world, there are a lot of people who are very concerned about what other people think of them and how they look at them. In fact, it is true that the bankers and housing agents will look at your net worth. It would be better if you have US$30 million investable assets than hardly any at all! You will be treated differently! We value the opinions of people therefore it can subconsciously drive us to ensure that we look good, do well and are respected by others. There is a tendency to want to show off to others that we are doing better than them. We show off our achievements based on our position in the company, the kind of company that we work for, the car that we drive or are driven around in, the house that we live in, the district where our apartment or house is located in, the credit cards that we have, the first or business class airport lounge that we can use, the restaurants that we like to frequent, the kinds of wine that we drink, the holiday destinations that we choose, the hotels that we stay in and the list goes on and on….

The cost for the pursuit of success and wealth can be very high. It will not just be in the monetary sense, but it might also cost us our health. It may the damage our soul (emotionally and mentally) and the relationships that we hold dearly in our lives. In fact, there are many occasions when people have died from overworking and the Japanese term for this is “Karoshi” (過労死, Karōshi), literally translated as “overwork death”. This is one kind of sorrow we all need to avoid!

The person cannot really stop when he is pursuing wealth because it is insatiable. We will never be satisfied nor feel that it is enough. It is a delusion to think that we will stop at the next dollar because there is always a draw for more money as we have built our security on it. There is also the fear of losing face because everyone is expecting us to do better year after year. We have already attained a certain standard of living therefore it is embarrassing for some when we seem to have a downgrade in lifestyle.

Our identity should not in the car we drive, the apartment/house we live in or our status in society, but it should be firmly grounded in Christ.

It is better to have our identity in Christ so that it is easier to start all over again if there is a need to do so in this ever-changing economic environment. With Christ, ALL things are possible.

Sermon Series – Balancing Godliness and Riches (Part 2)

追求财富和成功的代价

提摩太前书6：9-10 但那些想要发财的人、就陷在迷惑、落在网罗、和许多无知有害的私欲里、叫人沉在败坏和灭亡中。贪财是万恶之根．有人贪恋钱财、就被引诱离了真道、用许多愁苦把自己刺透了。

在唯物主义的世界中，许多人都很在意别人对他们的看法和眼色。实际上，银行家和房屋中介确实会查看您的净资产。如果你拥有3000万美元的可投资资产，那当然好过啥都没有！这两种情况所获得的礼遇是不一样的！我们重视人们的意见，于是它就能在潜意识中驱使我们确保自己看上去体面，行事漂亮并且受到他人的尊重。人人都想炫耀自己混得比别人好。我们晒出自己在公司中的职位、所属公司的类型、所驾的车或配备了车夫的座驾、住的房子、公寓或住所的地段、拥有的信用卡、可以使用的头等舱或商务舱的机场休息室、经常光顾的餐馆、所喝红酒的品类、所选的度假地、所住的酒店……等等诸如此类来炫耀自己的成就。

追求成功和财富的成本可能很高。这不仅是在金钱方面，而且还可能使我们付出健康的代价。它可能会损害我们的魂（情感上和心理上）以及我们在生活中所珍视的关系。实际上，曾经发生过许多次人们因过度劳累而死亡，而日语对此有一个词汇是“ Karoshi”（过労死，Karōshi），字面意思是“过度劳累而死亡”。这是我们所有人都需要避免的一种愁苦！

人对财富的追求无法真正停止，因为贪欲是无法满足的。我们将永远不会感到满意，也不会感到足够。认为再赚多一块钱之后就收手那是痴心妄想，因为钱总是赚不完的，尤其是当我们将安全感建立其上时。还有人害怕丢脸，因为每个人都希望自己一年更比一年强。我们已经达到一定的生活水准，因此，当我们的生活水准每况愈下时，这对于某些人来说是一件难堪的事。

我们的身份不应该维系于我们驾驶的汽车，我们所居住的公寓/洋房或我们的社会地位，而应该牢固地根植于基督。

务必使自己的身份根植在基督里面，如此在这不断变化的经济环境中，万一需要重头再来的话也会比较容易。在基督里没有难成之事。

讲章系列: 平衡敬虔和富足 (第二部分)