3. Getting straight on money
“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Everything you have ever owned, or ever will own, even your life itself is the Lord’s - because by him, through him, and for him all things were made.
This is a revolutionary idea. The money on your iPhone. The iPhone itself! Everything you possess is in fact the Lord’s possession.
This is how Israel was designed to function when they entered the Promised Land. The Lord gave them the land as a means of making wealth but he told them that they were his tenants. They could use the land as they saw best, but ultimately what they had belonged to God and was meant to provide for all of his people - including those who had nothing.
Our world pedals a different doctrine. Not all Americans walking round with dollar bills believe the strap line ‘In God we trust’, but they do believe in the strength of the US economy and the system that gives their dollars value. It’s the same everywhere. Idolatry in the Bible is when people chase after the blessings instead of chasing after the one who blesses, and our economies are forged on self-interested idolatry, rather than the desire for God’s glory.
Of course money is brilliant! It allows us to sell our time as labour to earn a living, it allows us buy goods and services we need to survive and flourish. But, left to itself, money does strange things to our hearts. It makes us believe we never have enough, that more will always be better, that we really deserve more than we have. It so quickly fosters in us a sense of envy or entitlement. Of course, as Christians we don’t have to buy into the system, but it is so easy to give in to the whispering voices ‘what’s mine is mine,’ ‘it’s mine because I’ve earned it,’ and I can spend it how I want ‘because I’m worth it’. This is what Jesus means in the parable of the sower when he talks about the deceitfulness of wealth.
Money makes us transfer our dependency onto money in place of God. It makes us crave the blessing rather than the one who blesses.
Ultimately it all comes back to the question of ownership. If it’s mine then I can use it how I choose - including whether or not I choose to give. But if my wealth really comes from Jesus, then I need to ask different questions about how I make best use of that which belongs to my saviour!
A key theme through the Bible is God’s undeserved generosity towards humanity. By God’s grace and generosity we are given not only life itself, but also redemption from our sin. Human generosity is another way the Lord gives us to share in his responsibility for his creation. Whenever we practise generosity, it helps us to grow our dependency on him, and it decreases our dependency on money. It is the antidote to idolatry.
Prayer -
Lord, I admit I get things wrong when it comes to money, and often I see whatever I have as mine rather than yours. Please change my heart to see that all that I have is yours and is given by you in grace. Thank you for your kindness, and please help me to use all that I have wisely and for your glory. Amen.