THINK TOGETHER.
Which do you like better, meat or vegetables?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 15:16-17. 16Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. 17Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
In the first proverb the person has great treasure but also great trouble. In the second proverb the person has a fattened ox (a sign of wealth) but hatred with it.
There is a warning for us here – often having more things, money, or wealth is NOT better. Why? Because often having great treasure makes us trust in ourselves rather than trusting in the fear of the Lord. And having lots of things makes us love our things more than people, and that leads to hatred that slowly destroys us.
What is better than things, and money, and wealth? Love! It’s better to have only vegetables for dinner with people who love you than to have a steak dinner with people who hate you. Love of money and stuff destroys our love for people.
Have you ever known someone with lots of things but few friends? Someone with lots of money but little happiness? Having people who love you and people you can love is always better than having more things.
And having a God who loves you is best.
In Jesus we have a God who will always love us, even when all we have are some herbs to eat. Even when we don’t have many things, we will always have Christ and his love for us. If all we have is Jesus and his love, and we trust his love for us (the fear of the Lord), then we have great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain,
What is great gain? Godliness. What is godliness? Trusting the love of Jesus. Will you trust Jesus more than your great treasures? Can you be content with what you already have knowing that you have everything you need in Christ?
Because of Jesus we have everything we need, especially love.
With Jesus we can always be content, and trust God.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make 1 Timothy 6:6a (above) a family memory verse.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, your love is better than everything else. Amen.
TLICfamily 