Keeping Our Lives Free From the Love of Money

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

We live in a different time in which economic competition is no longer limited to our neighbors, but has expanded to the great unknown of those we watch on television. We no longer keep up with the proverbial Joneses; rather, we try to keep up with advertisers’ ideas of what will make us happy and fulfilled. And the key, of course, has to do with purchasing what they are selling!

But it’s not just advertising which may cause us to want more. Reality TV sometimes is all about more: I enjoy watching Velocity Channel, and they have different shows about rare and iconic cars. One show was about a gentleman who wanted to buy a vintage Aston Martin race car from the 1960s. The car was so rare that it had a purchase price over three million dollars! He bought the car, but not before dickering over $20,000. To settle it, the two men played a game of ping pong!

On DIY TV (Do-it-yourself) they have reality shows all about people upgrading their bathrooms or kitchens; and sometimes the prices for their upgrades go into the $100,000 range. It is stunning how much people are willing to spend to be happy and fulfilled … in a bathroom. Time to turn off the TV because the more we watch the more we are tempted to think their way.

It’s easier to be critical when we don’t have as much to spend on upgrading our homes, but we may very well be trapped by the same spirit of greed. The apostle Paul warns us, as he warned Timothy,

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 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. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness (1 Timothy 6:6–11).

Jesus said, “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 [So why do we sometimes try?]. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:24–25, 33–34).

In what we call the model prayer, Jesus taught us to have a “daily bread” attitude: “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). This is an easier attitude to adopt when we don’t have much and therefore depend more on God for necessities (Psalm 37:25); but when our attitude is tied to things, we won’t depend on God the way we should (Hebrews 13:5–6).

We all have wants: and to be clear wants are desires for different (i.e., new to us) or brand new things. The problem is not having wants, but having those wants become what we think about all the time. “For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19).

Contentment is the key. And contentment is learned—“Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity … I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11–13). The more we allow the Lord to be in our lives, the less we will depend on things to fulfill us. The opposite is also true: the less we allow the Lord to be in our lives, the more we will depend on things to make us happy (the void will be filled by something). We all have needs, but we shouldn’t allow wants to rule our thoughts and motivations.