The astonishing anomaly

(Jared Waterbury, "Piety, the Only Foundation of True and Substantial Joy" May, 1838) It is a subject for serious inquiry--how far the pursuit of riches is consistent with true and genuine piety? Why is it that some Christian professors are found in such constant contact with the world? Why are closet duties abridged or neglected, while time is freely, and even lavishly, given to business and to pleasure? Ah! the question has been sadly answered, in the almost unbounded thirst for gain, which, like a sweeping epidemic, has found its way into the homes and the hearts of professors! The astonishing anomaly has been witnessed, of men professing to live above the world--yet wholly bent on acquiring its possessions! Many who profess to renounce the world's pomps and its vanities, have been seen foremost in plans to secure them, and even ostentatious in the exhibition of them! They live in a greedy and all-absorbing pursuit of the world, while they dwell in fine houses, ride in splendid vehicles, and feast on rich dainties. If a Christian may embark in the pursuit of riches with as unbridled an appetite as the professed votaries of the world, and vie with them in the manifestation of external grandeur; it must follow that Jesus did not mean what He said, or that He was mistaken, when He declared, "You cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:13. link