Money Matters

None can deny that money plays an important role in our lives. To the surprise of many, the Bible actually has a great deal to say about money - there are many verses on earning and spending, saving and giving, investing and even wasting our money.

photo: a thrift shop in State College, USA

To those who are not rich, those who want to get rich, and those who are rich - a simple but profound secret for happiness is CONTENTMENT. It is reflected through an attitude of satisfaction, ie. enough is enough, which is opposite from the title of a popular local movie, Money Not Enough. A Greek sage once put it: “to whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.”
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But how do we learn contentment? First, having a current perspective on eternity helps us to quit striving for more… we entered life empty-handed, we leave in the same way. Second, it helps if we boil life down to its essentials: something to eat, something to wear, and a roof over our heads. Everything beyond that we’d do well to consider as extra.

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“The society’s plan of attack is to create dissatisfaction, to convince us that we must be in a constant pursuit for something “out there” that is sure to bring us happiness. When you reduce that lie to its lowest level, it is saying that contentment is impossible without striving for more… Perhaps the most devastating … part of advertising is that it attempts to persuade us that material possessions will bring joy and fulfillment - that happiness is to be attained through limitless material acquisition… Advertisers promise that their products will satisfy our deepest needs and inner longing for love, acceptance, security and sexual intimacy… Advertising has a powerful effect on all of us.” - Charles Swindoll

photo: boalsburg, PA
For those who are rich, the Bible warns: “Instruct them not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous & ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasures of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed" (1 Timothy 6: 17-19).

If you break down the above statements, you will find two negative instructions and one positive instruction.

Don’t be conceited. Proud, snobbish arrogance, and the high-and-mighty importance, have no placed in the life of wealthy Christians. Remember that everything you have come from your heavenly Father.

• Don’t trust in your wealth for your security. In the final analysis, there are many things that no amount of money can buy. Consider this:

Money can buy medicine, but not health.
Money can buy a house, but not a home.
Money can buy companionship, but not friends.
Money can buy entertainment, but not happiness.
Money can buy food, but not an appetite.
Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.
Money can buy a crucifix, but not a Savior.
Money can buy a good life, but not eternal life.

• Become a generous person. Give, give, give, give, give, and give more … Let generosity become your trademark. Be generous with your time, your efforts, your energy, your encouragement, and yes, your money.

Reflection: money has never yet made anyone rich.

Source: Charles Swindoll (1982) “Strengthening Your Grip on Money”.