God’s Word encourages us to respect money, not to love it. (1 Tim. 6:9, 10) “A wise person will listen and take in more instruction, and a man of understanding is the one who acquires skillful direction,” wrote Solomon. (Prov. 1:5) Therefore, learn to manage money skillfully. Otherwise, you may find yourself quickly plunging into debt if you buy items on impulse or spend money just to impress your friends. When it comes to spending money, you must learn to discipline yourself. Making and managing money is an important part of life. However, Jesus said that real happiness comes to those who are “conscious of their spiritual need.” (Matt. 5:3) He warned that a person’s interest in spiritual matters can be choked by such things as “the deceptive power of riches.” (Mark 4:19) How important it is, then, that you let yourself be guided by God’s Word and maintain a balanced view of money! w10 11/15 1:11-14
On one occasion, Jesus and his apostles were in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. While there, they met a Greek woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter. At first, Jesus ignored the woman. But when she kept on insisting, Jesus told her the words of today’s text. (Mark 7:24-26) Why did Jesus at first refuse to help this woman? Was Jesus testing her to see how she would react, giving her an opportunity to display her faith? His tone of voice, although not revealed in the written text, did not discourage her. His use of the term “little dogs” softened the comparison. So perhaps Jesus was acting like a parent who intends to grant a child’s request but withholds any outward sign of that intent in order to test out the child’s seriousness. Whatever the case, once the woman expressed her faith, Jesus willingly granted her request.—Mark 7:28-30. w10 10/15 1:10, 11
Have you ever entertained the thought of how wonderful it must have been to be alive when Jesus was on earth? You might think of the prospect of being healed by Jesus and thus spared the distress of some troublesome physical affliction. Or you might consider the sheer pleasure of being able to see and hear Jesus—to be able to learn from him or to see him perform some miracle. (Mark 4:1, 2; Luke 5:3-9; 9:11) What a great privilege it would have been to be present when Jesus did all those works! (Luke 19:37) No generation since then has witnessed such things, and what Jesus accomplished on earth “through the sacrifice of himself” will not be repeated. (Heb. 9:26; John 14:19) Our present era, though, is also momentous. It is during this time that we have the grand privilege of declaring the “good news of the kingdom” worldwide, telling people about the hope of the Paradise to come—a never-to-be-repeated work. w10 4/15 4:1, 2
You have a document that needs a certain person’s attention by the end of the day. What do you do? You mark it “URGENT!” You are on your way to an important appointment, but you are late. What do you do? You tell the driver, “Please hurry; it’s URGENT!” Yes, when you have a task that must get done and time is running out, you feel tense and excited. Your adrenaline begins to flow, and you work as fast and as hard as you can. That is urgency! For true Christians today, nothing is more urgent than preaching the good news of the Kingdom and making disciples of people of all the nations. (Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20) Quoting Jesus, the disciple Mark wrote that this work must be done “first,” that is, before the end comes. (Mark 13:10) That, of course, is the way it should be. Jesus said: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” A harvest cannot wait; it must be brought in before the season is over.—Matt. 9:37. w10 12/15 1:1, 2
