The God of Gain: Acts 16:19-21
“19) But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20) and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21) and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”” Acts 16:19-21
In the search for truth some people are motivated by God, but most people are motivated by gain. When gain is your god, anger and violence soon follows. They are tragically blind to the gospel and the value system of the kingdom.
This explains what motivated the masters of the slave girl. It made no difference to them that a captive of Satan was supernaturally set free from demonic influence by the power of Jesus Christ, the only thing that mattered was that she could no longer make them a profit.
Those involved in human trafficking of any kind are always blind to the gospel. They are motivated by greed. They have no rules or morals. They do not care about the value or dignity of people. For them, any evil or indignity is justified in the pursuit of pleasure and money.
Look at the story. Paul and Silas suddenly became the problem. They were viscously attacked. Their message was a threat to the crime family and they were about to pay the price of serious physical harm.
Understanding this story sheds light on how agape love, the gospel and Christianity can be vehemently opposed by the world. God and truth are not the issue. The only issue is greed, gain and the pursuit of unrestrained pleasure. The god of gain is blinding and fuels injustice of any kind.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
