Welcome To Adulting By JP PokludaSample

Day Five

The Money Myth

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus talked about money more than any other topic. You might think that an eternal God would be too big and too holy to talk about something as seemingly petty and unimportant as money. But he does talk about it, a lot, and for good reason: money causes more problems for more people than just about anything else in this life.

Technically, money itself—or even the lack of it—isn’t the issue for most people. Money isn’t a problem by itself. It’s the way we relate to it, including the efforts we take to earn it and the ways we choose to manage it, that causes problems. It can steal your joy, put you in bondage, or cause you to waste your life in pursuit of the wrong thing.

The reason that money causes so many problems is because of a persistent myth, one that almost every person (myself included) tends to believe. The myth is this: having more money will make you happy.

Let’s take a look at one of the richest men to have ever lived, King Solomon. Solomon’s first words in Ecclesiastes are: “Meaningless! Meaningless! . . . Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). And then it kind of goes downhill from there. Clearly, having more money didn’t make Solomon all that happy. (Really, go read Ecclesiastes. It’s a fascinating perspective from someone who literally had everything you could ever want.)

Money is a tool. It is something that can be used to do work and to accomplish something. Because of this, money is also a responsibility. It’s a tool you have that gives you the power to do either good or evil, and you have to decide what to do with it. Understanding this next reality will help you tremendously in your view of money: you have no money. All money is ultimately God’s money. As with every resource on this earth, God created it and gave it to us to steward during our lifetimes. 

Lord, I look at money with a desire that is not pure or holy. I want to have money so I can have freedom, security, and happiness. Please shape my desire toward money into a perspective that pleases you. Help me surrender anything that keeps me from serving you through how I steward the money you give me. In the name of Jesus, I pray.