I was making a long drive across the country for my next job and so I had time to reflect. Reflect about my life, my current state, my relationships, and things that I had put off mentally and emotionally. To add to the spice, I was listening to some sermons from a non-denominational Christian church I like. One thing came up repeatedly in different sermons on different topics; the theme of idolatry. They said, “The devil love to tempt you with these three things; power, money, and self.” I wanted to focus on the money because that’s what I relate to the most.
I’m going to be forwarding a few messages from that sermon as well as others, because they said it better than I can. One message is an idol is something that separates you from God because you place it before God and give it more worth than God. It is anything that is more important to you than God. It isn’t necessarily the image we may think of dancing around a statue or bowing before a sculpture that is adorned with jewels and has a blazing fire in front of it. These modern idols are more sinister and subtle. For me, I focus on my finances, out of fear and anxiety. I want more, not out of greed, but out of a false sense of security. My relationship has always been more money means more security, more safety. And lack thereof is the opposite. When I don’t have money, how will I be able to afford things, go on trips, enjoy my life? Debt must be eradicated, as it is an opportunity for the wolf to get in and wreak havoc. When you have money, you are stable. It promises to keep me safe.
“But money is a liar! It makes promises it can’t keep.” Sure it promises safety but in my 38 years on this earth, I have never felt that “ahh…okay, I finally have enough and I don’t need any more.” Instead, it’s the thought “okay, well now that I don’t have student debt, I still have a mortgage. Gotta pay that off!” or “you’ve invested some money…better invest more because you want to have enough when you retire right? It doesn’t give security, it breeds fear. It says, “I’ll take care of you” but really, it abandons you. It lies to you. And after 2 decades off making money, I am slowly waking up to the lie. So what am I going to do?
Pray. Ask God for the grace and wisdom and the courage to follow Him. Leave the money. Now I’m not demonizing money or suggesting we go live in the woods and eat leaves and drink stream water. Money has provided me many things, brought me to places I wouldn’t go without it. But it’s because God gave me that money. Everything we have ever and will ever have comes from God. The idolatry comes in when we “worship the gift over the giver.” We forget that God came first and provided, like the Father He is, and we are merely the benefactor. Instead, we believe, my hard work did this. My toil and long hours, my sacrifice did this. And it has, but only because God gave you the opportunity to work.
It’s going to be a long difficult process for me because of my long held belief about money and my dysfunctional relationship. But I know God will restore my relationship with Him, making it superior. I know I can serve God and not my finances, having faith and not fear. “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 mammon” (Mt 6:24) God I trust you.
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