Rethink Rich: How You View Money May Be Ruining Your Life (Part 1)

What if you could be free from the stress of worrying about money forever?

Imagine no more bills piling up that you can’t afford. No more working a job you hate just because you need the money. No more feeling like a modern-day slave to debt collectors, employers, and sometimes even your family.

We may be tempted to assume that all these things are just normal. We think they are part of living a happy, prosperous life. But what if we are wrong? What if there was a way to throw away the stress of money and never look back?

Let’s start with a simple question:

Why does money have the power to affect us so greatly?

Be honest with yourself; if you were given $10,000, how would you feel? If you lost the same, how would you feel?

• Money has the power to make our hearts overflow with happiness.
• Money has the power to crush us under the weight of depression.
• Money can make a person do things they would never normally do.
• Money convinces us to lie, cheat, and steal.
• Money can influence a woman to sell her dignity and purity.
• Money can persuade a man to leave his family for days and weeks at a time.
• Money leads people around like puppets on a string.
• Many of us have done things we shouldn’t do to get a few more dollars.

 

Listen to what Jesus has to say about money in Matthew 6:24

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Mammon is wealth or riches.

This verse forces us all to stop for a minute and examine our lives.

Are we in danger of becoming a servant to money? Is money forcing me to make decisions that draw me away from God? Could it be that we have never noticed just how much influence money has in our lives to dictate how we live and what we do with our time and talents?

 

The Biggest Lie About Being Rich

What do you think of when you think of the word “rich?” Many people would equate being rich to having a lot of money, a big house, servants, nice clothes, and jewelry. However, the idea of being rich can encompass many things. The ultimate goal should be to have a rich and full life with peace, joy, health, vitality, and rest.

Anyone can live a rich life regardless of the size of their bank account. We have been taught that money is the best way to get these things. BUT WHAT IF MONEY WASN’T THE ONLY WAY? BETTER YET, WHAT IF SOMETHING ELSE COULD MAKE US EVEN RICHER THAN MONEY?

Jesus promises in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

 

Similarly, James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Being rich can have nothing to do with money. Instead, it has to do with living a full life. Unfortunately, we have all been misled that the best way to get a good life is to get a lot of money.

The following popular story helps to illustrate the diverse meaning of richness.

One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

 

After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. “It was great, Dad,” the son replied. “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah,” said the son.

 

“So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

 

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

 

We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.” The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “It showed me just how poor we really are.” (*source unknown)

 

Why We Aren’t as Rich as We Could Be

Many people profess to be Christian. Yet, some of us Christians are in danger of trusting money more than God? We expect money to feed us and clothe us. When we are stressed or burdened, we look to money to lift our spirits and comfort us. We hope that money will bring us safety and security. Money is our source of joy and entertainment. Money pleases us; it fulfills our desires. Our reliance on God has been replaced with a reliance on money.

If we are given money, then we rejoice. If money is taken away, we are devastated.

When every aspect of our fulfillment in life depends on money, then we run into a problem. Money rules our lives. It dictates how we will live and what decisions we will make. It causes us to stop depending on God for our needs. Even though we may believe in God, we count on Him for less and less.

Some people will accumulate more money than others during their lifetime. However, the richest servant of money is still not as rich as the poorest servant of God. A lifetime of striving for wealth will never match a lifetime of striving for God. We fool ourselves by believing that wealth will make us happier than God can.

Therefore, we are doomed to miss out on real richness because we are distracted by the lure of wealth. We would all be richer if we stopped spending so much time and energy on wealth and started spending it on our relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

How to Tell if Money is Ruining Your Relationship with God

You may recall the Old Testament story of Jacob. He was the man who tricked his brother out of his inheritance and blessing. As a result, Jacob ran from his brother into a faraway country. While there, he fell in love with a young lady named Rachael. On the wedding night, Rachael’s father secretly disguised his older daughter as Rachael. Somehow Jacob only realized the switch after it was too late. He found himself married to Rachael’s older sister Leah.

After posing a complaint, Jacob was also allowed to marry his true love, Rachael. However, this didn’t entirely solve the problem. Jacob was married to two women. Each woman desired her husband’s affection and love. In addition, she resented having to share her husband with another woman.

Sometimes our lives can feel like we are being pulled in two different directions. There are competing forces attempting to win our love and affections. God desires our whole heart. So does money and wealth. Jesus makes it clear that these two things desire our worship and service. The heart cannot love both equally at the same time. We must choose to love one and despise the other.

There is a simple way to examine your own heart in this matter.

If money asks you for less God in your life, what is your reaction? Examples may include working more hours and skimping on church, prayer, Bible reading, evangelism, or serving God in some way.

Now let’s flip the question around.

If God asks you for less money in your life, what is your reaction? Examples may include tithing, working fewer hours, working a lower-paying job, becoming a missionary, or giving more than 10%.

It can be easy to see these patterns in the lives of others but try and examine your own life. Does it bother you to give up your hard-earned money for the Lord? Is the time you spend earning money distracting you from being closer to God? Could you live with less money and still have all your needs met? Would this allow you to serve God better?

If we are honest, there are times when we feel resentful when someone asks us to give up money for ministry purposes. This feeling may be legitimate. However, it could also be what Jesus describes in Matthew 6:24 as despising our master.

Along those same lines, when is the last time you despised money for asking you to do less for God? How often do we get mad at wealth when it gets in the way of our worship and service to God? If you are indeed a servant of God, then you will begin to become frustrated when other things take you away from Him.

Who is your God?

One day we will all stand before the Lord and answer for our actions in this life. Your actions prove your heart. You cannot serve God and wealth. Notice, He doesn’t say that you cannot have money. But He does mean that you can no longer let money dictate how you will live your life.

You can be free from money’s burden in your life, but it takes a giant, life-changing, all in, leap of faith. Choose you this day whom you will serve, God or wealth.

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