Brothers & Sisters,

            On Sunday as we studied Deuteronomy 24 and 25 we were confronted with the need to protect our neighbor’s dignity and integrity. We even learned that some within Israel (and perhaps even we) may be tempted to love money and possessions more than our neighbor. Our love of money can endanger others, but it can also endanger us. That’s part of Graham Beynon’s point in his book Money Counts when he writes:

            The deceptive trap of money leads to “foolish and harmful desires” and these plunge people to “ruin and destruction.” Wanting money will destroy us.

            Paul explains this in the next verse:

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 (1Timothy 6:10).

 

            Loving money is a root of all kinds of evil, not all evil. You cannot blame love of money for everything. By you can certainly blame it for a lot. Whereas we tend to think it is relatively harmless, the truth is it does awful damage.

            Notice that Paul says that some people who loved money and so were eager for it have “wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” That makes sense; you cannot serve two masters. A love of money can lead you away from faith in Jesus and wreck your life. The image Paul uses for piercing yourself is like stabbing yourself with a sword. Loving money is like a form of self-harm. Loving money can keep you from the gospel, or drag you from the gospel. It is spiritually destructive.

            Do you actually believe that money could wreck you spiritually? Do you believe that money could plunge your life into destruction? This is something I have been struck by. I don’t think I really believed it – which means I, and presumably others as well, hadn’t really understood how dangerous money can be.”    

 

[Graham Beynon, Money Counts: How to Handle Money in Your Heart and with Your Hands (Epsom, Surrey: The Good Book Company, 2016), 26-27.]

            I pray that the Lord would give us wisdom as we live in this world and handle the resources that he has entrusted to us. May we remember that money is a gift from God. May we refuse to make it our god. May we remember that we are only safe and secure in the Savior and not in our savings. May we glorify God in all that we do, including how we view, think about, and handle money.

Warmly in Christ,

Mike