GOD AND MONEY
money |ˈmənē| noun a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively: She put her money in the offering.
Money is mentioned in the Bible more than 800 times. Along with possessions, it is the second most referenced topic in the entire Scripture—but it also happens to be ranked as one of the least favorite sermon themes by both non-believers and those who profess to be Christians. Why do you think that is?
Some Christians believe in tithing religiously, while others believe it is outdated and “old law.” Some give to the local church, and others donate to charities and humanitarian efforts making a difference around the world.
But no matter what your stance on giving is, the Bible is pretty clear that our money is an indicator of where our heart is.
“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:21
The story of “The Rich Man” in Mark 10:17-31 starts with a young, wealthy man asking Jesus how he could inherit eternal life. After Jesus challenged him to follow the Ten Commandments and to obey the Holy Scriptures he felt as though he was on the right track. But when Jesus got right to the heart of this man’s true desire by saying, “go and sell all your possessions and give them to the poor,” (verse 21) it made the young man very sad and he walked away from Jesus–completely discouraged.
Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (verse 23) because of the hold money and “things” can have on our hearts.
It’s important to remember that Jesus didn’t challenge every rich person He met to give all of their money and possessions away. He was simply pointing out that the love of money is where the problem begins (1 Timothy 6:10). When we serve and love money more than we serve and love God, that’s when it becomes a problem because it is then considered to be an idol to us.
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24
You can tell a lot about your heart by what you spend your money on. I love clothing, fashion, interior design–so a lot of my budget goes to those things. Field loves golf and travel. But Field and I always make a point to be generous with our money and give away as much as we can to keep our hearts in the right place. I love what Rick Warren said: “The best use of your money is using it to get people into Heaven.”
Jesus challenged the rich man by pointing out the idol he had made of wealth in his heart. Today, most banks will do the math for us and show us a pie chart of what ranks highest in our hearts according to our monthly spending report. Sometimes, not always, the highest ranked items can easily become idols to us if we’re not mindful of it.
I want to encourage you today, to take a good look at your spending report and an even deeper look at your heart.
We can find out a lot about the position of our hearts by asking ourselves questions like these: Is the way I’m spending my money benefiting anyone but myself? Are the highest-ranked items on my spending report taking up too much space in my heart leaving little room for God? Am I a slave to money because of debt or idolizing material things?
We can all probably answer “yes” to at least one of the questions above—and that is a great place for us to start.
Ask God to show you the idols in your heart today. Ask Him to give you wisdom when it comes to your money. Thank Him for what He has already given to you and for the blessings He will bring to you in the future.
I believe God gives us good gifts, including money, and that He will give us even more as we steward those gifts well (Matthew 25:14-30). I’m praying for you today—for wisdom with money, for mountains of debt to be moved, and for abundant blessings over your future, finances, and family!
XO-
Sabrina