06.14.04

Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?" - 1 Chronicles 29:1-5.

It is a sad story I read about that occurred in Multan, Pakistan. There was a dispute between two families and as a result three brothers were hung after they murdered two brothers of another family. The three brothers that were executed were convicted after stabbing to death the two men over an argument about a $2.69 payment for a tape recorder. What a terrible thing for both families!

King David says that he had, "set my affection on the house of my God." It is clear what the murderous brothers in Pakistan had their affection, the desires of their hearts set upon. They had their hearts set upon the things of this world and if the payment missed had only been five cents they would probably have still murdered those other men. Because they had money on the brain and they were so infuriated at the missed payment they committed murder.

What is it that we have our affection set upon? Is our affection set upon the things of this world? If it is, let the story about the brothers in Pakistan be a warning. We may not be at the point of committing murder but that is where such desire will take us. What is it that you are passionate about? What is the desire of your heart? What do you really care about? If what you are passionate about, and what you have your affection set upon is not the Lord and the things of God - surely God is speaking to you about the need of a course correction. Is it not time to consecrate yourself afresh this day to the Lord? As David said, "Who then is willing"?