Deceptions of the Flesh

1 Timothy 6:9 "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition."

Paul teaches the young pastor Timothy about serving in the church of Ephesus. We know from other places in the Bible that there were many that made a living off of the worship of other deities and Paul warns Timothy not to fall into the same trap. As a believer he is to walk with God, being content with the food and clothing that he has and focusing only on the business of the heavenly King. He is to depend on God for his daily provisions and not desire earthly riches, but heavenly rewards.
In this verse Paul expounds on that exhortation further by laying out how running after earthly gain effects the lives of those that are caught in the trap of running after riches. As believers Jesus has saved us unto good works (Eph 2:10) and we are to be the light of the world that shines into the dark places in the earth and brings the message of hope to a lost and dying world. We are the body of Christ whose function it is to move and act with a single purpose: to be witnesses of Christs' redemptive works and make disciples of all men (Mat 28). This can only be achieved if we have one Spirit and one Mind within the body of believers. We need to be heaven bound and seek first the kingdom of God (Mat 6:33). When our eyes are fixed upon Jesus, we will be successful in our attempts to be kingdom men, but when we take our eyes off of heavenly pursuits we open ourselves up to all kinds of temptations. In our flesh dwells nothing worthwhile, the Bible tells us, so when we allow our own desires for wealth to take preeminence in our thinking we automatically open ourselves up for failure. Satan wants to render us useless as torch bearers for Christ and will tempt us with the illusion that it is a worthwhile pursuit to make riches and comfort the purpose of our existence. At first it can be harmless and seemingly trivial desires of simply wanting enough money to pay the bills or getting the car fixed. But over time, there will be more and more items that we just cannot live without and we will become slaves to having to have better and bigger stuff. We get caught up in the downward spiral of "what I have is not good enough," which eventually leads to death and destruction of ourselves and those around us.
As a follower of Christ we have to chose whom we serve: the God of heaven or the prince of this earth. Will we be heaven bound or trapped on earth? We cannot serve God and mammon and have to chose who our master will be (Mat 6:24). One path leads to everlasting life and the other to eternal death. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord (Josh 24:15).

Application
"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal 2:20). Today I will meditate on this verse throughout the day and ask God to reveal and remove the desires for the foolish and harmful lusts in my life.