Ezekiel 27-29, 1 Peter 3 • Key Verse: Ezekiel 28:5
We live in prosperous times. Not everyone shares in the prosperity, but it is still a time of
abundance. Increasingly, there is a desire to be wealthy. Advertisements are intended to create a
dissatisfaction that 1 can be assuaged only by getting more. Investment firms then add their
enticements to help people gain more to have more. The mailbox contains offers of credit so that
we can have instant gratification.

Some will get caught in the trap; the lure of easy credit will put them in financial bondage.
Others will prosper Their investments will do well; their portfolios will flourish.
But with prosperity comes the peril of pride. The words Ezekiel spoke to the prince of Tyre apply
to us as well: ‘“By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of
your wealth your heart has grown proud’” (28:5). He warned the ruler who had done well
financially that his prosperity had damaged his heart. The damage was, not physical but
spiritual.
Its easy for our hearts to grow proud when we are prosperous. Its especially easy for this to
happen when our prosperity is the apparent result of our own wisdom. When we have worked
hard, invested well and made our first million, so to speak, pride grows. We are tempted to rest
in our own accomplishments.
One antidote to pride is giving. Giving our money to support the Lord’s work reminds us that
money is temporary. Only the things of God are eternal.
Woodrow Kroll & Tony beckett
www.backtothebible.in