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Seeking the perspective of Jesus

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV

There is another way to understand the words, “Keep your life free from the love of money.” It is to understand that our way of life should be free from it. “Free” as opposed to enslaved. Now, this is interesting, for our way of life is supported by money, so how does this caution apply to those of us who have to make a living for our families and ourselves? God understands that we have to work and earn a living. He gave mankind the blessing of work at our creation. Therefore, the caution deals with the love of money, not money itself. We all know that we work to earn money in order to sustain our way of life. But some of our ways of life are different and more or less money is required. This is where the love of money can come into play. Rather than needing money to simply provide for our way of life and invest in our King’s interests, we fall into a cycle of addiction that feeds an ego that needs to be propped up by what money can buy for us. The addiction I speak of could include drug and alcohol related problems, for we see many addicts “loving money” in order to support their habits. But, the more insidious addiction that entices us every day, and one to which we are most often blind, is the addiction of materialism. It is easy to become addicted to materialism. Every time we read a newspaper or magazine or watch TV, we are bombarded with carefully worded and portrayed advertisements that try to convince us that our way of life would be better with their products. As a result of this captivation, we are led into an illicit love affair with money, which, in turn, leads us to captivity and financial slavery. Materialism is nothing new. It was worshipped as a god in Christ’s day, and it still is today. Because of this, I think the writer of Hebrews was giving Christians caution. The love of money will lead to a vicious cycle that could include financial bankruptcy, but for sure, it will lead a Christian to spiritual shipwreck. We are cautioned to avoid this. Therefore, I think it would be a good thing to understand better what lures us to this enticing path so that we can avoid it.

"For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:10 NIV

Let’s be clear. The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, evidenced by the scripture above. The old King James Version said that it is the root of all evil. However, the New King James Version restates it to be a root of all kinds of evil. I bring this up, for money in itself is not evil, nor being gifted to make a lot of it is wrong. But too much or too little can lead to a love affair with money if we are not careful, and this can open the door to a boatload of evil things that will come into our life. That is why we read a challenging petition asked of God in Proverbs, as the writer, Agur, understood the allurement we speak of:

"Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." Proverbs 30: 7-9 NIV

If you knew ahead of time that a path you were traveling on would lead to all manner of evil in yours and your family’s lives, would you have the courage to leave that path and ask for less from God in order for you all to stay safe? If so, you are demonstrating a greater love for your King than for money. This, in itself, shows evidence of a right heart and a right perspective, one that God can really bless, possibly even financially. However, is there evidence that you could be having a love affair with money and not know it? Let’s go to the root of the “love of money” and see how it develops, and maybe you will be able to answer that question.

A lover of money is self-centered.

I think it would be the exception for a person to simply love money for itself. Paper, gold, silver- what is there to love about these? They are dirty, cold, and unfeeling. However, there are people who are hoarders of money and just love to keep their hands on it. They never share it, never invest it outside of their own personal interests, and never help other people with it unless they get credit for it. They are the last one to pick up the check at a meal. They worry if there will be enough money to support their lifestyle and whether they could run out of it. They are enslaved to it. They are like the foolish servant who buried his master’s talent in a hole and hoped to please his master when he returned by having not lost it. Was he pleased? The master was greatly displeased and took from the servant that which was entrusted to him and put him away. Likewise, when we hoard God’s resources for our own personal use and never think outside our own personal interests, we displease our King. God wants us to invest His money wisely in those things of eternal value, including our life and lifestyle. We cannot have the freedom to join God in His interests if we hoard it only for ourselves and use it to fund our addictions. A sure sign of a “lover of money” is a person who has no interest in anything that doesn’t benefit his own interests and one who feels that being generous to someone in need is akin to “throwing good money to the dogs.”

A lover of money is an idolater.

Webster's dictionary defines 'Mammon' as: 1) the false god of riches and avarice. 2) riches regarded as an object of worship and greedy pursuit; wealth as an evil, more or less personified. Jesus said that we cannot serve both God and Mammon. It slips into our life easy enough. Most every American has grown up with the great American Dream of rising from lower circumstances through a free enterprise system that will allow us to get ahead by skillful and hard work. This has been a great blessing to a man like myself who was able to improve my family’s way of life over my parents'. However, along this path of self-improvement lurks a demon that tempts our pride. Our need for self-advancement can easily take a good thing and make it into an idol. When we allow ourselves to be captivated by what money can do for us rather than the good things we can do with money, we are bowing down to Mammon. This will be a major obstacle in our path to the Treasure of the Kingdom of God. We cheat ourselves out of the best that the King of the universe wants to give us when we settle for the idol of Mammon.

A lover of money is confused.

In 1943 Abraham Maslow wrote his paper, A Theory of Human Motivation. In this paper he introduced his now famous hierarchy of needs, which starts with a human’s basic physiological need to satisfy hunger and thirst. Next comes our need for safety, security, and protection. Then, our social need becomes our pursuit, where we satisfy our sense of belonging and being loved. As we move out of the basic needs for survival, we begin to see some “luxury needs” surface. This is where the love affair with money most often develops. Esteem needs, such as self-esteem, recognition, and the need for status, are high on the list which eventually reaches the climax of self-actualization. Maslow theorized self-actualization to be at the top of the pyramid of needs in our life. As I look at Maslow’s observations, I cannot help but think of my own father’s “theory of needs” that he shared with me when I was an upcoming hotshot and lover of money. At my stage of life now, I see my dad as a sage, a wise man, a man who had a lot of life figured out, especially in the area of money. However, at the time that I had my conversation with him, I didn’t see it that way. I was confused like many of you are right now. I’d like to share some points from that conversation I had with him 34 years ago. His “theory of needs” helped him avoid confusion during his life, and it now helps me. I hope the simple but profound words he shared with me will bless you as it has me.

What really counts?

My Dad was a smart man, a generous man, and an athlete, gifted in a lot of areas. He could do just about anything to which he put his mind. He was a hunter, fisherman, somewhat “Hemmingway-ish” with his pursuits, a real "man’s man". He was a bit of a scoundrel early in life, but he became a solid Christian when he grew older. He had a couple of years in college before getting married and settling into a job that he would remain in for the next 40 plus years of life. He was a fireman who worked in a factory. His job was occasionally dangerous, but boring and demanding most of the time. It got him killed in the end from an industrial accident one month before his retirement. He stayed with that job most of his adult life and provided for his family. We didn’t have a lot of material things, but we always had enough, and the feasts my Mom put on the table each day have never been matched in my mind. The fresh vegetables they grew and canned for winter kept us well fed, and the fish, quail, and other wild game my Dad brought in with the store-bought meats kept the meals interesting. Mom, who was a “stay at home mom”, could make several meals from the Sunday pot-roast, as she did her part in stretching the food budget. I was well-dressed but not altogether stylish. I felt like the son of a rich man, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t the money that set us apart. It was more about how we lived life. It was a great place for me to be prepared for my adulthood. It was real and solid.

After I finished college through a football scholarship and was launched into a career of sales, I began to believe all the hype I was sold about “What the mind can conceive the body can achieve.” I saw myself as a rising young financial star that would blow the top off the financial ceiling and make a name for myself. I loved money for what it could do for me, the classic symptom of Mammon worship. I was fastening my hopes to this idol, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never get ahead. One day I asked my Dad what he was earning at the Masonite Plant he had worked at for 40 years. I was astounded, as his hourly wage was less than what I threw on the table for a tip on a $20.00 meal. I asked him incredulously why he would settle for such a wage. I was thinking that he was, no doubt, an under-achiever who was burying his talents. I could tell that he sensed my amazement and that I needed a lesson on his “Theory of Needs.” Boy, did I!

“Son,” my Dad said to me with empathy and patience, “look around you. It might not look like much to you, but everything I have is paid for. My truck, our car, our home, everything we have has been bought and paid for with cash. We have never borrowed money and if we didn’t have the money, we wouldn’t buy something. Also, just because we had it didn’t mean we needed to spend it. Every day I go to work at 7:00 AM. I work straight through the day until 3:00 PM. I come home with time to spare in the day to work my garden, or go fish, or go play golf. We have a great life! Sure, I have the ability to make more money for your mother and me. I have always had that ability. I could even take on another job right now if I wanted to, but why would I want to do that … so that we can buy more things that break, or wear out or have to be replaced by more things? Son, those things that people tell you that you can’t live without can become an addiction, and the requirement to pay for those things can make a slave out of you. But worst of all, your love of money can open the door to all kinds of bad things that you don’t want to have in your life. You don’t need that kind of evil in your life.” My Dad had discovered the secret of great wealth. It is called contentment. He was a rich man where it truly counted.

Men, it took me many hard years to satisfy in my own mind that my Dad was right. I have “scars” from my fights with a lot of evil to show for it. I can say to you with all earnestness that the love of money will lead you astray. But, what about those of you who are now discovering this and who took the path you are on because of ignorance or deception? Is there is any hope for you? You bet there is! God is the Great Redeemer and Restorer. He has said that if we put away (abandon) our false gods, He will come and make His home with us. There is redemption and restoration to be received if there is recognition and repentance on our part. Could it be that God is waiting on this from you before He will bring healing to your life in the area of finances?