The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 6:16-19, “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

I once asked a fellow preacher I knew what he did for pleasure. His answer surprised me. He forthrightly said, “Some people engage in sports, some in pleasures of various kinds. I make money.”

It was a terse reply—one that frankly intrigued me. He was a nice, warm, personable fellow. I never knew or heard of any scandal attached to him or his ministry. His vocabulary, so far as I knew, contained no profanity or off-color humor of any kind. His ministry, however, was always somehow attached to his pleasurable desire to make money. He pastored churches, was true to the Scriptures, evangelized the lost, and engaged in the normal activities of ministry; yet, somehow he was always engaged in some enterprise that produced money.

He had apparently forgotten the Word that says, “…For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.”

That preacher is gone now; and I have no thought that he ever lacked the knowledge of the grace of almighty God, or that his ministry in the Word was somehow meshed with his extracurricular activity. It simply underscored my thought that the Word of God in Scripture is to be the exclusive pursuit of those who are called to deliver it to a lost and dying world. May the LORD keep us ever faithful to His calling.

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom