June 25

Desires That Plunge Men Into Ruin

Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced  themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 

Although Hipolito Alvarez had made a profession of faith and wanted to be identified with the Christian community in Pelechuco, Bolivia, he also wanted to continue his life as a prosperous merchant who traveled from town to town selling various products. He was a capitalistic workaholic, and it was his money that brought him satisfaction.

“I saved every peso I could and my savings grew,” he later recalled. “That made me feel good. I lived right by the church, but Sunday was the best day for my work. So instead of going to meetings, I would sneak around the back and carry on my business.” In order to earn even more money, Hipolito rented six mules. He calculated that he could pay the rental fee from his earnings from one mule, and the earnings from the other five would be his to keep. He was convinced that he would soon become a wealthy man. “I was happy,” he recalls, “expecting to make lots of money.”

The market town where Hipolito could sell his produce for the highest profit was on the other side of a deep canyon with a river below. The only means of crossing the raging river was a narrow swinging bridge. It was treacherous, but he was convinced that he could cross safely if he led one mule at a time, leaving the remaining mules back with his young helper.

“Just past the middle of the bridge the sound of galloping hoofs tore my heart with fear. The bridge began to sway and I looked back. One mule had pushed past my helper and was galloping to catch up with us. I hurried to get across before the bridge gave way. No such luck. Another mule broke loose and came running across. The bridge couldn’t handle the load, just before we reached the end, the cables broke and we plummeted to the river below.”

Miraculously, Hipolito, who could not swim, survived the ordeal. The mules and all his produce were lost, but he recovered from his near-fatal injuries. Some of his friends thought he would be safer if he turned his back on God, but he disagreed: “‘No,’ I answered. ‘Money deceived me. Because of my greed for money I almost lost my life.’ And I told God, ‘I’m not interested in money anymore. I no longer want to get rich. I just want enough to live on each day, and that’s all.’ ” ²⁵