No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
— Matthew 6:24-25
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
— 1 Timothy 6:9-10
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
— 1 Timothy 6:17
He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
— Luke 13:6-9
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
— Luke 17:26-30
Choked by Life’s Worries, Riches and Pleasures, or, So Many Traps to Catch Souls, by J.C. Ryle. The following contains an excerpt from his work, “Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke.” 1858.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear—but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
— Luke 8:14
One caution contained in the parable of the sower-—is to beware of the cares of this world. Our Lord tells us that the hearts of many hearers of the Word are like thorny ground. The seed of the Word, when sown upon them—is choked by the multitude of other things, by which their affections are occupied. They have no objection to the doctrines and requirements of the Gospel. They even wish to believe and obey them. But they allow earthly things to get such hold upon their minds—that they leave no room for the Word of God to do its work. And hence it follows that however many sermons they hear—they seem nothing bettered by them. A weekly process of truth-stifling goes on within them. They bring no fruit to perfection.
The things of this world, form one of the greatest dangers which beset a Christian’s path. The money, the pleasures, the daily business of the world—are so many traps to catch souls. Thousands of things, which in themselves are innocent, become, when followed to excess—little better than soul-poisons, and helps to Hell.
Open sin is not the only thing that ruins souls. In the midst of our families, and in the pursuit of our lawful callings—we have need to be on our guard. Unless we watch and pray—these temporal things may rob us of Heaven, and smother every sermon we hear. We may live and die as thorny-ground hearers.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear—but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
— Luke 8:14
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