| Money Talk |
Page 1 of 2 I’m always amazed when I hear believers continually talking about wanting money and things. For a people who claim to have a Lord and Saviour, Who is their everything, they sure don’t sound like He really is!
We’ve all heard the saying, “money talks,” and indeed it does. What is your money saying to you? In the next few articles, I want to address the issue of money and clear up some of the most common, yet erroneous ideas concerning it. Jesus talked about money many times and it is an important part of every person’s life. The problems come when people begin to think that serving God is a way to get rich. Is having money a bad thing? “…useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6: 5 & 6 (NKJV) In this passage, Paul, writing to the church was explaining that yes, indeed, godliness is great gain, but only if you add the virtue of contentment to it. The real issue is not money in and of itself, but rather, the desire to get rich and obtain more money. The truth is that if we will walk with God, He will prosper us in all we do, as long as we stay away from the desire to be rich. We have to understand that it is the desire to have money that brings great temptations and troubles into a person’s life. It is one thing to want enough to have your needs met and to give to every good work, but it is quite another to want money just for the sake of having it. That is where it starts to get a little dicey! “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.” 1 Timothy 6:9 (NKJV) I’m always amazed when I hear believers continually talking about wanting money and things. For a people who claim to have a Lord and Saviour, Who is their everything, they sure don’t sound like He really is! Can it be that we still have a love for money? Does it not say in Psalm 23 that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall NOT want? Now, having said that, does this mean God doesn’t want us to have money or things? No! God wants us to have all things, but he doesn’t want things having all men. They’re really only tools for us to use to accomplish the will of God in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Look again at what it says, “into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts.” “I’m going to be a millionaire!” I have had people say to me, “I am going to be a millionaire.” My first reaction is to say, “Why?” Others have said to me, “I want to own my own business.” When I ask them why, they inevitably say that they want to be able to do whatever they want and to be able to go traveling. If you wait long enough, you will hear why they really want lots of money - to live a selfish and self indulgent lifestyle. The problem with all of this is that the opposite usually happens. They chase hard after money and all they get for their labour are temptations, snares and troubles. They don’t realize that there is a price to pay when we let our desires get out of control. |
