Mark 4:19b.
”…the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

Have you ever bought a poly bag with the inscription: Warning! To avoid danger of suffocation, keep this bag away from children and babies.
Well if you have, that’s an example of a choking hazard. Such bags pose a danger to the health of children in the same way as the deceitfulness of money can pose a threat to a believer’s wellbeing.

In Mark 4:19, Jesus mentions the deception of money as a second choking hazard to our receptivity of God’s word. Unfortunately many have fallen victim to the lure of money. I call it “the spirit of Gehazi”.
(2 Kings 5:20-27).

— Gehazi the servant of Elisha, the man of God, would have naturally succeeded him in ministry if he had not been wrongly influenced by money. Elisha said “Is it the time to receive money and clothing…therefore Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you”.
2 Kings 5: 26-27.

Indeed, many potentially great people, including ministers,have shipwrecked their faith due to the spirit of Gehazi at work in them; and have unfortunately ended up becoming comedians.

— Simon the sorceror is one such person who got disqualified in ministry because he thought he could buy the gift of God with money. (Acts 8: 22)

— Similarly, Ananias and Sapphira also got choked with the money trap and ‘breathed their last’ even under grace( Acts 5).

Dear friend, I urge you to be wary of the love of money. The Bible says “some people eager for money have pierced themselves with many griefs”. (1Tim 6 :10).

Rise up above the pursuit of material things, rather pursue the Lord, and watch how money comes to you in ways you never thought about.

Don’t choke!

Further reading: 1 Kings 3:5-15.