We all need money to survive; it’s a given fact. The world expects to be paid for services rendered and expects riches to enjoy themselves. I for one couldn’t get to work without money, I couldn’t see people I love and I really couldn’t survive without food or drink. But, I ask of you, do you need money to have a good time? Do you need money to enjoy life? Most importantly, do you need money to be close to God? Unsurprisingly, the answer to all of the questions is, no.
Right, get real Mike, if we don’t need money to do all of these things, then why do you get up and go to work everyday and why is it you still have to have money to pay for things. Well, you’re right, however, the way in which I use my money isn’t for personal gain, and isn’t to make myself feel better.
The text I’m going to draw from is as follows;
1 Timothy 6:10 (New International Version)
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I think its important to point out right from the start, Money is not evil. It is the love of money that is evil. Again, I’m going to look at this in 3 parts, and view this subject as a relationship, and how the world expects relationships to happen – Stage 1, Falling in Love, Stage 2, Marriage, and Stage 3 Divorce.
Stage 1 – Falling in Love.
I’m sure you know what this feeling is like. When you share with somebody everything and when all you want to do is spend time with this person. The love of money can also happen along these lines. When I started working in 2001, this was when I first fell in love with money.
My pay cheque would arrive on my desk telling me that my bank account had been replenished with funds every month. The first few months of this happening, something strange happened to me. I would go out and spend the lot, not even thinking about the implications, nor, thinking about the consequences. I was falling in love with having what I wanted, when I wanted and at any cost.
I managed to get myself into debt pretty quickly with that attitude in mind. I wanted to spend as much time and money as I could wandering around the shops or in the pub because, I could.
One of my biggest inspirations when it came to money was a guy by the name of Peter Jones. (Dragons Den). He was young successful and could afford what he wanted, but that was where my love grew for money.
God says at the start of this passage, “For the Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”. And ultimately, my falling in love with money did this. I used to get drunk, I used it to gratify my lusts and I used it to be selfish. At the time, I thought there was nothing wrong with this, but when you actually look at the situation through Christian eyes, you realize that because the pound signs blinded me, I let my eyes be deceived.
Stage 2 – The Marriage
Obviously, once you have loved someone for some time and you have realized that you do indeed want to spend the rest of your life with him or her, you get married. (Not strictly I know but generally from a Christian point of view this is the usual course).
When you get married to money, there is no ceremony, there are no gifts. Your marriage happened when you realize, there is no way out from its grip on you. When you realize, I can’t actually quit working because you’ve made your self get into debt and the only way out is by working to get more money. At this point you find yourself asking why have I let myself get into this position, but by now it’s too late.
In the passage it says, “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith”. This is what happened to me, and I’m sure it’s the same path that hundreds of Christians have walked before. The temptations of the world are too great for us to resist and the key to unlocking these things is money.
When you are in a marriage, God says that you are to be faithful, but money cannot be faithful to you because it won’t tell you what is right and wrong and it most certainly won’t tell you to stop spending. Banks are sending me leaflets every day telling me I can have credit cards, loans and all manner of money I would want. But ultimately, the relationship can break down and end in misery.
Stage 3 – The Divorce.
This is the stage when you hate money because you can’t get enough, the only reason you get up for work each day is to satisfy your thirst for having more money to pay off more debts and to have some left over to have fun with. Instead of you getting money, money gets you.
I’ve been in this situation and it’s not pretty. You begin to resent your Job because the only reason you can justify being there is to pay debts. Everything seems to be slowing down and everything is an effort. You don’t have any money to get drunk with, to buy things or to gratify yourself but you take it anyway and get yourself further and further into the red.
At this point. You feel helpless. And this is what the last part of the passage says – “and pierced themselves with many grief’s”. You see how the bible simplifies this, “Pierced THEMSELVES…” its not God’s doing if you love money and it turns its back on you. Its not God who allows you to get into debt, its your love for money.
Ultimately however, there is always a way out, whether that be when you hit rock bottom and the bank gives you more money and you structure your payment over a period of time, or you manage to work up enough money to pay it off. God also offers a way out for his debt.
Conclusion
What God is teaching in this passage is that money isn’t evil, money is a necessity, its something that helps when you have a bill, or when you need to eat. It is the LOVE of money that leads to your downfall. I still admire Peter Jones but I don't have the same love for money as I did have.
I have committed my life to God, I am a Christian and because of this, All that I own and all that I have is committed to given to him so that I can do his will. This includes money. I use the money I have to serve God. I use money to get to work so that I can work hard and witness to people around me with my actions, for God. I use my money to travel to see people, so that I can encourage and help them, and love them, for God. I use my money to pay off the debt from my old life so that I am free to serve God in another way, for God.
I do not love money. Money is there for God’s purposes and you can use your money to glorify him. As someone once said to me “you can’t take it with you”, that’s the truth but whilst I am here I can serve God with the money that I have.
Walk By Faith and not by sight.
Mikey.
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