“And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mar 4:19).
We’ve seen that the first word-choker our Lord mentions in our text is anxiety. The second is avarice. This “thorn” revolves around the love of money. Note that the problem is not riches (money) but the deception from greed, the love of money and pursuit of wealth at all costs. Let’s hear the Word of God unpacking this truth without interruption: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim 6:9-10). God forbid that the temptations, traps, foolishness and harmful desires associated with covetousness should derail your faith, ruin your integrity and sabotage your spiritual growth!
Pastor Josh