Jesus Is All We Need: 10 Devotions to Experience the Rescuing Love of GodSample

All We Need is Jesus

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." HEBREWS 13:5 ESV

I was still young when I was hired as a full-time firefighter paramedic by the Oakland Fire Department. Even though I'd dropped out of high school and never read a book from cover to cover in real life, I had full health benefits, full retirement benefits, and was earning six figures a year.

From a financial point of view, I had it made. The stuff everyone else seemed to be striving for was already mine: nice vehicle, sweet house, and plenty of cash for food and vacations and anything else I wanted.

But I was miserable. My happiness was completely untethered from my bank account. I was "set for life," as the saying goes, and yet I wanted to end my life. The world kept telling me I just didn't have enough. So I'd work more, earn more, spend more, and save more... and then work even more.

What I didn't understand at the time was that I was making money an idol. I wasn't using money - I was worshipping it.

In contrast, today's verse frees us from worshipping money. The good news is that even if we're currently worshipping money, we no longer need to. The reason we chase and even worship money is simple: we think it will bring us security. But the only real security in life is found in Jesus, who will never leave us nor turn His back on us.

And let's notice what this verse doesn't say. It doesn't say our lives need to be free from money! What God is encouraging us to do is to always keep Jesus in first place and keep everything else - including money - behind Him.

Being content with what we have, rather than worshipping money, is linked to what comes next in this verse. Because Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us, we can always be content. That's because any material blessing can vanish from our lives, but Jesus never will. Loving money can never bring us contentment or happiness - that's Jesus's job! And as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, He will show us how to use the money we do have in ways that honor God.

Takeaway: Loving money is a fool's errand because money never loves you back.

Prayer: God, please keep me focused on my true wealth, which can only be found in my faith in Christ Jesus, who will never leave my side. Help me love the One who always loves me perfectly.