When Money Costs You
“Now
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out. And having food and clothing,
with these we shall be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in
destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have
strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with
many sorrows.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-10
Money gets a bad rap! The Bible is often
misquoted as having said somewhere within its pages “money is the root of all
evil.” But in fact – it doesn’t! The verse being misquoted is 1 Timothy 6:10,
which says “For the LOVE of money is the
root of all kinds of evil”. Money in
itself is nothing more than paper an ink.
It only becomes evil if we give it a higher priority in our lives than
we give to God. Then it becomes an idol,
and we develop greed. Out of greed come
many evils.
The problem with greed for money, wealth, or
riches is a trust issue. When greed enters
into our hearts, trust in God to sustain us and contentment leave. It’s ironic that all of our coins and bills
have “In God We Trust” imprinted on them, yet we don’t seek God for our
happiness, but money. We devalue His
ability to sustain and care for us, as Jehovah Jirah, and choose to chase after
wealth.
We work longer than we should at our jobs
for more money. We take on second jobs
and side jobs for more money. We work
during worship times to meet our “needs”.
We buy bigger houses with mortgages that keep us up at night. We buy new cars that give us a ball-and-chain
payment for six years or longer. And we
do it all to please who?
Do we really need bigger houses and new
cars to be happy? Does it really flip a
switch and raise your happy meter to have a new car and pay a $500 or more
payment every month? Is that making you happy?
Perhaps these are a means to something else we’re hoping to attain by
having all these new treats and trinkets.
Much of the time the true goal of our
endless possessions is to please other people.
It’s the “keeping up with the
Jones’” syndrome. Yet, have you
noticed that the Jones’ aren’t really interested in how much you have? Would it not be better to try to impress
Almighty God than your next door neighbor?
You can’t please people and God - pick ONE.
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says “No one can serve two
masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY.” Yet, many of us live
in such a ways as to profess that we believe Jesus got it all wrong! Our actions show our heart’s true belief,
which is sometimes contrary to what we say
we believe. We go in debt to own
more, serving money as a slave to our credit card bills and payment books. But it only causes the happy meter to rise temporarily. We are never joyful and content!
I love how Timothy explains it, when he
says “Now
godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN. For we
brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out. And having food and clothing,
with these WE SHALL BE CONTENT.” When
we cannot be content with what we have, we forego the blessing of “great gain”. My
husband shared a quote he saw yesterday that said, “Happiness will never come
to those who don't appreciate what they already have”.
Hebrews 13:5 parallels the issue of greed
with trust in God. It says, “Let
your conduct be without
covetousness; be content with
such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you.” Are not God’s provisions all that you truly need? Does He not, in all His wisdom, know how to
give good gifts to you?
Do you want to put your money to eternal
use? Do you want to store up treasures
in Heaven? Jesus told the rich young man
in Matthew 19:21 “sell
what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven”. Would your
money not be better invested in heaven that a bank earning 1 or 2% interest? Use it to feed the poor, clothe children,
house the homeless, and support those that do these things. Giving KILLS greed.
Greed is like a welcome mat set outside the
door of your life for evil and unhappiness.
God warns us not to chase after material things, but to build up our
treasures in Heaven where “moth and rust
do not destroy” (Matthew 6:19), and that “one's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But do we trust that His words are true? Do our actions show that we believe Him?
True happiness lies in the Kingdom of God –
serving Him. Luke 12:31 instructs us to “seek the kingdom of God, and all these things
shall be added to you.” Live in the image
in which you were created. Seek His
righteousness, and all you need – you will have. Matthew 13:44 compares money to the Kingdom
of God’s value as it says “The kingdom of
heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.
Then IN HIS JOY he goes and sells ALL THAT HE HAS and buys that field.” It’s worth all the money! Are you seeking to attain the field, His
righteousness, or are you seeking wealth?
For many, their entire life’s goals can
come down to one thing: to die rich. But
consider what James has to say to those that do in James 5:1-5
“Come
now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are
moth-eaten. Your gold and silver
have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat
your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed
your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the
cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You
have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened
your hearts in a day of slaughter.”
In Jesus name, dear friends, let this never
be said of you.