Christians who have fully put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have been made into a new creation and are given a new identity: an identity as a child of God through Christ. With this new identity we are given new pursuits and ideals. One of these is to pursue holiness.
Pursuing God
The Lord Jesus Christ, frank as He is, warned us that in our pursuit of God we will face challenges. One of these is the challenge to pursue God and not money. In Matthew 6:24, He warned us,
“No one 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. You cannot serve God and money.”
Knowing this, we will do well to be fully aware if the master we are serving is God or riches. In the pursuit of riches and material gain, we will appear to have many possessions throughout our lifetime. But at the end of our lives we all know that we will part with them. And then will come the sad realisation that we should’ve lived for God.
Pursuing God, on the other hand, might appear boring and unappealing to many. But the truth is that it’s the only pursuit that brings lasting satisfaction and overflowing contentment. And yes, this joy will never end, even if we face trials and hardships.
Pursue Holiness Over Riches
God, our Father, wants all of us to be like Him; He wants us all to be holy as He is holy (see 1 Peter 1:16). Our desire, then, should be the pursuit of holiness rather than the pursuit of riches and material gain.
To help you pursue God’s holiness instead of worldly, material gain, here are some Bible verses for you.
Psalm 84:10-12
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Matthew 6:25-33 NIV
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Psalm 49:15-20 NIV
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.