What is it that we "crave"? To crave means: to long for, to want greatly or to desire eagerly. Cravings take our thoughts, capture our emotional energy, and get us into conversation. Cravings are desires that we feel a need to satisfy. The problem is when we "crave" the wrong things.
It is one thing to be pregnant and "crave" a certain food. It is a completely different thing to "crave" to be rich! In fact, Paul said that this kind of craving has caused people to "wander from the faith and pierce themselves with many pains." Money is not evil. Craving it is! Paul calls this craving "a root of all kinds of evil."
In contrast Paul calls us to "crave" the things of God. How much do we desire what God desires? How much time does God's kingdom occupy of our thought life, our emotional energy or our conversations? Do we even know what it means to "crave" the things of God? How financially invested are we in God's kingdom?
Jesus warned the rich on many occasions. Paul echoes Jesus' warning in this chapter. Who are the rich? Anyone who has more than they need to satisfy their basic earthy needs. Anything beyond need is a measure of rich. Even today "the rich" of the world are those who don't have to worry about food, shelter and clothing. Today the majority of the world is still "craving" to not have to worry about these things!
This chapter is for us.
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