A Physical for the Christian Soul

The leader of a Bible Study I attend told us that a friend of his who knows quite a few billionaires told him that many of those billionaires are the unhappiest people he knows.

There are a large number of people who believe money will bring happiness. They think that if they just had enough money, they would be happy. But an interesting thing happens along the way to earning enough money…many of them discover that they can never earn enough to keep up with their desires. As their income grows, so do their desires.

The Bible claims that those who love money will never be satisfied loving money. (Ecclessiastes 5:10) This is because money is unable to fill the “satisfaction” void. It was never designed for that purpose.

To be clear, the Bible is not anti-money for there are many examples of very wealthy, God loving people in the Bible. Abraham, Solomon, Job are three examples.

It’s simply against us coveting money. (Luke 12:15) Remember, that God designed us to put him before anything else. (Exdous 20:3) He holds the primary position, not money. So when we make it our number one goal in life to make money, we remove God from his rightful place in our lives and expose ourselves of living outside his protection.

Consider this, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:10-11 ESV)

The desire to close a deal above all else opens the door to make decisions that you would normally not make. Cutting corners, omitting details, rewriting language to your absolute advantage, and the like in order to make a deal will always come back to bite you. Repeated enough, these actions will lead you further away from the faith because God is no longer the primary guiding force in your life.

Jesus really puts a fine point on this issue. "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 ESV)

Rather than pursuing money first, pursue God and he will add everything you need to you. (Matthew 6:33) Work diligently with what he has given you and he will give you more. (Matthew 25:14-30)

Remember, money was not designed fill your spiritual piggyback so flee that desire. It will not satisfy the longing of your heart, only God can do that because he designed it that way.

Which examples can you think of where money was more important than God? How do you counsel someone who makes money his/her number one priority? Which things have worked or not worked?