Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants.

Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message,

The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens.

Jesus saw that he was sad and said, "How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!

Demas fell in love with this present world and has deserted me, going off to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

"You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

"This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes?

Once a man came to Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?"

"What commandments?" he asked. Jesus answered, "Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely;

"I have obeyed all these commandments," the young man replied. "What else do I need to do?"

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.

I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."

Lot looked around and saw that the whole Jordan Valley, all the way to Zoar, had plenty of water, like the Garden of the LORD or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom,

"It's true," Achan answered. "I have sinned against the LORD, Israel's God, and this is what I did.

Among the things we seized I saw a beautiful Babylonian cloak, about five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing over one pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. You will find them buried inside my tent, with the silver at the bottom."

when Elisha's servant Gehazi said to himself, "My master has let Naaman get away without paying a thing! He should have accepted what that Syrian offered him. By the living LORD I will run after him and get something from him."

"No," Gehazi answered. "But my master sent me to tell you that just now two members of the group of prophets in the hill country of Ephraim arrived, and he would like you to give them three thousand pieces of silver and two changes of fine clothes."

When they reached the hill where Elisha lived, Gehazi took the two bags and carried them into the house. Then he sent Naaman's servants back.

But Elisha said, "Wasn't I there in spirit when the man got out of his chariot to meet you? This is no time to accept money and clothes, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, or servants!

The LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "Plow up your unplowed fields; do not plant your seeds among thorns.

Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, "How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!"

It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."

And he went on to say to them all, "Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be."

And Jesus concluded, "This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight."

"So don't be all upset, always concerned about what you will eat and drink.

(For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things.

Jesus said to him, "There was once a man who was giving a great feast to which he invited many people.

But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, 'I have bought a field and must go and look at it; please accept my apologies.'

Another one said, 'I have just gotten married, and for that reason I cannot come.'

Soon the servant said, 'Your order has been carried out, sir, but there is room for more.'

I tell you all that none of those who were invited will taste my dinner!' "

"Be careful not to let yourselves become occupied with too much feasting and drinking and with the worries of this life, or that Day may suddenly catch you

But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them.

Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property?

As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified.

About three hours later his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in.

So Peter said to her, "Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!"

The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified.

Simon saw that the Spirit had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered money to Peter and John,

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

They want to look for nothing but the chance to commit adultery; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God's curse!

They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong

Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father.

Everything that belongs to the world---what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of---none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world.

How terrible for them! They have followed the way that Cain took. For the sake of money they have given themselves over to the error that Balaam committed. They have rebelled as Korah rebelled, and like him they are destroyed.

"Look, here is someone who did not depend on God for safety, but trusted instead in great wealth and looked for security in being wicked."

Don't put your trust in violence; don't hope to gain anything by robbery; even if your riches increase, don't depend on them.

Those who depend on their wealth will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper like the leaves of summer.

Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.

Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too---and a miserable way to live.

If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.

The richer you are, the more mouths you have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich.

Here is a terrible thing that I have seen in this world: people save up their money for a time when they may need it,

and then lose it all in some bad deal and end up with nothing left to pass on to their children.

but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit.

Jesus saw that he was sad and said, "How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!

It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."

Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.

The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens.

Demas fell in love with this present world and has deserted me, going off to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

With their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in your fellowship meals. They take care only of themselves. They are like clouds carried along by the wind, but bringing no rain. They are like trees that bear no fruit, even in autumn, trees that have been pulled up by the roots and are completely dead.