HELD FOR RANSOM

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes.

Proverbs 13:8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

NOTE: I am heading overseas today and then to sea for a few weeks. I hope to be able to post while away but if not, I will continue The Christian Walk when I return in early November. Blessings to all the readers of the word of the Lord that I share every day through this ministry.

Have you ever been held at ransom by something? Most of us would say, “No.”

We think of ransoms as what kidnappers ask for after they have taken someone or something of value of another. And since most of us have never been in that situation, we can discount the word “ransom” as it applies to our lives.

But consider what the Bible has to say about ransoms. For when we do, I think we find a broader application of the word to consider. Look at the proverb for today from several translations:

A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes. Proverbs 13:8 (NIV)

The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, but the poor does not hear rebuke. (NKJV)

Wealth is a ransom for a person’s life, but the poor get no threats. (NRSV)

The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. (NLT)

The rich may have to pay a ransom, but the poor don’t have that problem. (CEV)

As we look at this passage broken out from other translations, we get a better understanding of what Solomon was getting at. For the world pushes us toward the pursuit of riches for the sake of becoming wealthy, and although on the surface, it might seem harmless, accumulated riches can place us in a position where we are vulnerable to those with criminal intent.

Think about how many kidnappings have occurred in the history of mankind, where someone takes a family member of someone who is affluent and then demands a ransom for their return. The prosperity one finds ends up being a blessing on one hand and a curse on the other.

Conversely, one who is poor doesn’t have the same issue. After all, they have nothing to start with so there’s really no incentive for anyone to threaten them and try to demand ransom.

This is what God’s word is saying from a material sense but let’s now look at the spiritual implications of Solomon’s proverb.

For think about what happens when one has an accumulation of wealth. Does it not sometimes hold the owner of it ransom, providing such a distraction that more time is spent on the making and managing of money than the making of saved souls in response to the Great Commission of Jesus? It’s little wonder why Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters. We have to choose between God and money (Matthew 6:24).

The poor don’t have this problem. They have little except their faith and trust in Jesus but that’s more valuable than any amount of riches they could have. With no treasures on earth to distract them, they are able to focus on producing treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).

God’s word doesn’t completely discourage people to have money. If God blesses us with it, then we are to be thankful, rejoicing and seeking His guidance to ensure we will be good stewards of what He has provided. But we need to watch how much we accumulate for there is a tipping point where we become potentially compromised, held hostage, and rendered powerless to carry out the will and way of God the Father.

The good news is that the Lord will always direct us to the proper and perfect limits of accumulation when we allow Him to be our Master and manage every aspect of our financial management. He and He alone will keep us from ever being in a position where we are held hostage.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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