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Volume 9 ... #29
The Wisdom of God Concerning Money and the Pursuit of Money
Many people grow up learning to pursue money ... seeking better paying jobs ... desiring more money ... And often those same people hate going to work at those jobs... They never really see themselves fitting the following where Paul warns us about the "love" of money. They never realize it is "the love of money" driving them to areas which are harmful to themselves. They think the warning concerning "the love of money" applies to rich people and not to average or poor people.
Paul says ...
I Tim. 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
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Jesus says we cannot follow God and money (mammon) at the same time.
Mt. 6 ... 24 No man can serve two masters:for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
... 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and HIS righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
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Pam Padgett tells this interesting story ...
When I was in high school I wore eye glasses. At one point I decided I wanted to get contacts to use instead of glasses, thinking they would make me look more attractive. But my mom told me I couldn't get contacts because they were too expensive. So I decided to get a job to earn money to buy contacts myself.
In the small town where we lived there was a fast food place called Dairy Boy. My older sister had worked there in the past and really liked it, so I thought this would be fun for me as well. They hired me, but I found I didn't like the job. At first I tried to explain away that I didn't like working there, such as that I just needed to get used to it. Finally, I realized that I just hated working there and decided to quit.
But I didn't quite have enough money saved for contacts, and this was like a hook for me.
Foolishly I worked another couple weeks. I was miserable this whole time, and know it would have been far better for me to have just quit when I realized how much I hated this job and not keep working until I had the money for the contacts.
(And after putting myself through this, I landed up not even getting the contacts. My mom wouldn't allow me to buy them.)
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Much harm can come to us when we set about to pursue money.
It is far better to pursue something that interests you where you find your work interesting to you.
My dad was a mechanic. He loved working with motors. His brother was a farmer. Had my dad tried farming, he would have been miserable.
Most of us had to get a job to pay our bills, but to seek the job that paid the most money would be following after money and that usually leads to much unnecessary trouble.
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Later Pam Padgett had the following happen and turned to God with the concern:
Many years ago I didn't know what kind of work I wanted to do, but had very strong secretarial skills and accepted a job at a bank as a secretary.
My manager was an attorney and CPA and I found the work interesting for the first couple years.
But then I found that I was becoming bored with the work.
So I turned to God and told Him how bored I was and asked if there was any kind of work I could do that would be interesting to me.
About that time (approximately 1986) my manager asked if I would setup and start using two PCs that had been given to our department but were not being used. One had never been taken out of the box.
I told my manager I'd be glad to do this, but that I didn't know anything about computers.
I asked about taking some computer classes, and he agreed.
I got a list of courses offered at a community college and reviewed it with my manager. We selected two courses. One course was called "Basic" and we both thought this would be a good choice since I needed a "basic" understanding of computers.
But the first night of the Basic class, I learned that the class taught the computer programming language called "Basic". As soon as the instructor started talking about programming, I knew very strongly that programming is what I wanted to do, that it "fit" me.
As I drove home that night I kept thanking God and saying "This is it!" I knew God led me to a kind of work that would be interesting to me. I landed up programming more than 20 years and very much enjoyed this work.
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If you are a Christian and hate the work you do, but you keep doing this work for the money, it is that "love of money" leading you. You feel trapped by bills, debt and such and think you have to stay at that job. The example of Pam praying and letting God lead her is a good example for you.
Paul says: "The love of money is the root of all evil."
And Jesus tells us seek first the "kingdom of God" and HIS righteousness ... I think that means to pray, asking God to help us to see how to get where HE wants us.
Certainly if you are in debt you need to learn another way of life where you live within your means.
If you don't know how to go about doing these things to free yourself, consider doing the following:
James 1:5 ... If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
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Most parents set up plans to teach their children "the value of money", never realizing their plans may take their children in the wrong direction and create in the child "a love of money".
When I was a child, I asked my dad to give me an allowance.
He would not do that. He said he would give me whatever I needed and that I should just ask him.
That is so much more like we learn to do as we become Christian adults and turn to God asking HIM for various needs to be provided.
And remember what Jesus said: God knows we have need of these things! Mt. 6
Sometimes that which we think we need would not be good for us nor would it fit in with the plans God has for our lives.
But we read in Bible that no good thing will God withhold from us who walk uprightly.
Get out of debt if you have debt. Seek God and HIS will for you daily. Resist all plans to follow after money knowing that this can bring much unneeded trouble and grief upon you and can even damage your soul, giving place to various sins of envy and temptations of this world.
Don't bring trouble upon yourself!
Learn the way of God and live that way concerning money.
Free yourself, if needed.
I Tim. 6 ... 17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the LIVING God, WHO giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
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John 18, Jesus said: "MY kingdom is not of this world."
Neither is our kingdom of this world.
Consider carefully those things spoken by the apostle Paul in I Timothy 6 for this is the way of God for those who belong to God.
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