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How Much Is Enough?
In It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey, with a bleeding lip and an $8,000 shortfall, asks Clarence the angel for help.
George: “You don’t happen to have eight thousand bucks on you?”
Clarence (chuckling): “Oh no, we don’t use money in heaven.”
George: “That’s right, I keep forgetting. Comes in pretty handy down here, Bub.”
Jesus knows that money comes in handy down here—he talked about it a lot. He and the Father know what we need. God understands that we’ll feel anxious when our transmission suddenly blows, when our rent skyrockets, when the prices on our stocks drop, and we face college costs or retirement with only a fraction of the funds we were expecting. Jesus wanted us to know that we could still trust God even when finances run low.
Jesus wants us to guard our hearts, not our precious bank accounts. He didn’t mean we shouldn’t save—that idea runs contrary to God’s wisdom on saving and investing (Proverbs 6:6-8, Proverbs 13:11, 22, Matthew 25:14-30). But the Father wants us devoted to him, not to wealth. Paul warns Timothy about loving money. We can’t exchange our stored-up currency for treasures in heaven.
How much is enough? If we always answer, “Just a little more,” then we may be shackled by the love of money. The rich person hoarding wealth and the poor person fearing never having enough—money has mastered both. Thank the Father for all the ways he’s provided for you and ask him for help in serving him with your money.
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About this Plan
Times are tough. Anxiety can grow inside us like a contagion as we battle external stress and internal doubt. Jesus knew that the better we know our Father, the less reason we’ll have to be anxious. In Matthew 6, Jesus draws us back to our Father, the One who sees us, knows our needs, and provides hope.
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