im sorry. I have been to the beach, I work for a wealthy place. I know that the homes are on such good locations its common for the wealthy not even repair them after a fire but to level them and rebuild. even now they do this.
so which is better? to know you have a dispensation to sin and to avoid that? if thine eye offends thee.. fits this. I could say the same about why I shouldn't go to the beach. the women there tempt me. its not them but me. so sometimes I should avoid see the string bikinis. work requires that I do go there. sometimes my wife asks me to go. but it does cause a sin issue.
beer for me isn't a sin. but for @lewis he cant even touch it. I wouldn't offer him a drink. go preach that argument to him. I know my flesh. I know that even though I haven been wealthy god has convicted me of keeping up with the jones. god forbid I would rather been poor and more like him then to be wealthy and like the so called wealthy Christians here who steal mens wages and the public all in the name of Christ. sure if one can do it. go for it but forget not the Lord.
Well, in the natural, that surely would be wisdom. BUT, you CAN be delivered from any stronghold, for 2 Cor 5:17-21 promises as such, for when you were saved, you did become a new creation, and the old things, including the lusts of the flesh, passed away, and behold, all things of JasonC are new and ALL things of JasonC are OF GOD. I say these things to inspire you of course my brother.
Sin much of the time is like the Sun; you know it's there, but if you look at it you'll end up with a problem, because it burns your eyes, so even though it there you can still go about your business. Does Satan know what he's doing in trying to get people to sin, of course!
But the mere temptation to sin is NOT sin.
Otherwise Jesus would have died for our temptations.
And then we would have to say Jesus could not have offered Himself because He was tempted of the Devil.
The Devil tries to convince Believers that temptation = sin, when it does not. The temptation to sin is not sin.
Then he tries to make people feel guilty for being tempted, but then again, Jesus would have sinned, because He was tempted, yet He felt not guilty.
So, in the same vein as with the eyes and the Devil trying to put things before our eyes that are not right, he tries to put thoughts in too, but a thought occurring is not the same as taking that thought and dwelling on it and bringing forth evil fruit with it in your heart. We cannot stop thoughts from occurring (though we should take the time to put on God's armor everyday and plead the blood of Jesus over ourselves, that will cut down on them significantly), and these would be the same as temptations with the eyes, or whatever, and so that is why God instructed us to cast down every vain imagination (thought) and bring them captive to the obedience of Christ.
Is it easy? No, it's work, and it gets much easier as you set yourself to do it daily. The source of those thoughts is Satan, and so after doing the will of God (casting down/bringing captive) then you bind the Devil and tell him to shut up and depart from you, to go away into the ocean, or the bottomless pit, or the desert...wherever.
But wealth is not your problem I would say to you, I would say it is fresh revelation of 2 Cor 5:17-21. You CAN live a victorious life and not be bound by fear anymore.
And anytime the Devil tries to tell you to do otherwise or surround you with temptation just refuse him. Just disobey the Devil, say NO! Tell him, just for that, I am going to shut you down in my city, and start praying for revival in your city. He'll start to wise up.