Dear Lighthouse,

            Money.  Have you thought about money today?  How about your finances over the Christmas holiday season?  Chances are you have thought about it and maybe even had some arguments on the subject.  I’m told that most domestic stress is caused by money – both the quantity and its management.  I suppose that’s why the Bible, in specifically Jesus’ teaching, focuses so much attention on money – more so than about any other subject. 

            Why is this?  What is so important about money?  I think it comes down to what money means to us.  Money represents many things to many people.  It is a status marker, it offers hope of security, it opens up opportunities to buy what we want and what we need, it gives a sense of power and satisfaction, and, if allowed, it can become our god.  Isn’t it ironic?  The very thing that we work so hard to acquire so that we can be free, ultimately tries to enslave us and become the god to which we bow and offer our sacrifices of time, integrity, and obedience.  Funny how that works.

            Paul makes the point that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”. (I Tim. 6:10)  As you know and understand money itself is not evil.  Jesus used money. (see Matt. 17:27)  Money is an acceptable and necessary offering and gift we give to God’s Kingdom.  Certainly He would not accept something that is sinful.  No, it is the love of money that corrupts.  It is when we put our hope and trust in money (and our self reliance in the ability to get it) that money takes on a sinister persona.  If you are willing to bend God’s Word in order to get ahead and get more money, then you have a conflict of interest that has eternal ramifications.  Jesus said it like this, “No servant can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and Money.”  (Luke 16:13) 

The question is, where are you really putting your trust, hope, and security – God or Money?  I bet you answered God, but do your everyday life decisions support your answer?  If not, then you should ponder this question: Can money really deliver on its promises?  Let’s see.

Does money really bring security?  We all know the stories of guys with big retirements and big bank accounts that have some catastrophic illness that wipes them out.  Or how about a stock market crash that empties the coffers of the most miserly person?  What kind of security is that?  Do you ever have enough?  Money doesn’t bring security.  In fact it brings more of a sense of fear and worry of the loss that you could suffer after hoarding it up all of you life.

            Can money really buy happiness?  The standard joke is, ‘I don’t know, but I’d like to try and find out’.  We laugh, but consider it for a moment.  Money can buy you all sorts of stuff, but isn’t there always one more thing you’d like?  This promise that money makes is exactly like the one lust makes, isn’t it?  Lust tempts you to go beyond marriage and into perversion all the time promising you greater satisfaction than that found within the bounds of God’s Word.  But, you never can get enough - there’s always more, there’s always something better or someone else.  Ted Bundy, the serial killer and rapist, said he started out with pornography but soon that stopped satisfying.  He was forced to move on to more and more perversion to get the same thrill.  Eventually that led to murder and his own destruction.  Solomon puts it like this, “All things are wearisome, more than one can say.  The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.” (Eccles. 1:8)  It’s true.  Think about those you know who are greedy, lustful, or gossips – it’s all the same.  Money cannot bring happiness.  Instead it increases your desire for more.

            The same goes for power and satisfaction and all the other promises money makes.  To be sure, money is nice to have on hand, but it is not an appropriate standard by which to measure your success, your security, your happiness, and certainly not your relationship with God.

            So what is the proper attitude we should take in regards to money?  If it’s not evil and if it cannot bring us true happiness, then what is it for?  My answer may surprise you.  I believe money is a gift from God.  Yep, I think money is great, but it is given to us for us to use and to enjoy, not to worship.  Look at this lengthy excerpt from one of my favorite OT books, Ecclesiastes:

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is meaningless.  As goods increase, so do those who consume them.  And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? 

The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.  I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.  Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.  He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.  This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind?  All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. 

Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him – for this is his lot.  Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God.  He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.”  (Ecc. 5:11-20)

            Doesn’t that say it all?  I love this book because it cuts away all the pretense we live with and gets to the heart of the matter.  If you live for money you will still end up the same as everyone else - unable to take it with you.  Solomon goes on to talk about how money does not satisfy, it does not bring security, and it does not give you joy.  Solomon, one of the wealthiest men to ever live, knew what it was to have wealth, but he was wise enough to keep it in perspective.  He says that wealth and possessions and yes, work, are a gift from God intended for our pleasure.  I agree.

            A lot of people report being stressed out over the holidays and stressed out over money.  I’d like to encourage you this week to step back and get a proper view of money.  Enjoy the gift.  Spend it.  (That is money you have, not money on credit or loans – that’s a whole other subject…)  I hope you enjoy the gift of God. 

Just don’t fall into the temptations that come from having too much or too little.  Both situations beckon you to bow down and seek the god of Money for your security, joy, and fulfillment.   I caution you, you won’t find any of those things on Money’s altar.  “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matt. 6:33)  Do not worry.

God has given us all great gifts out of His abundance – our families, our freedom, and even the money in our pockets.  Cherish your family, relish in your liberty, and enjoy your money.  Just don’t forget where it all these blessings come from.  Never place your hope in anything less than the Father.  “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”  (Acts 17:28) 

Especially this holiday season, don’t overlook the most precious gift given to Man that makes all the other pale in comparison – Salvation – bought and paid for by the blood of God’s Son.  That will be the only thing that may accompany you to the other side when this life is over – the rest is “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  (Ecc. 1:14)

Enjoy and give thanks,

Evan