Jesus says: Beware of Money!

Alcoholics have this tendency to think that they can hold their liquor really well.  They feel they can always have "just one more," and that they can quit drinking at any time.

People often have this same problem when it comes to wealth.  They don't think they have a problem with the love of money.  They just like to work hard, dream big, and pursue the American dream.

We have this tendency to look at money as a very neutral thing, and say things like "It's only a tool, it's neither good or bad, money is what you make out of it."  Such is fundamentally no different than the alcoholic that thinks they can hold their liquor.  We never view making one more dollar as a danger.

Yet this is the exact opposite view that the New Testament holds.

In the eyes of Jesus and the apostles, money was far from a neutral thing.  Money was something that had the power to transform you, and even damn your very soul.  And instead of looking at wealth as a sign of Divine favor and a great source of blessing, money was looked at as something that was to be handled very, very carefully.  

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth." ~ Matthew 6:19-24 (NASB)

Here you have it, in black and white (or in red letters if that's your thing)! 

Jesus says the way you view money is of eternal importance.  Your perspective about wealth will shape your eternal destination, and it will define your religion and your relationship to God.

As Jesus says above, He wants us to look at money with clear eyes so that our souls can be full of God's light, and so that we can value things in their true and eternal perspective.  Such will keep us heavenly minded, and safeguard us against ruin.  He warns, however, that if our vision is bad and if we don't have a clear perspective, we are in danger of being lost in darkness, and will understand the world (and heaven) in a very warped and perverted way, though we claim to "really" understand (like some of you who are disagreeing with what I'm saying).

Jesus says that trappings of wealth are so dangerous that you are going to have to choose who you are going to have to a love for, and who you are going to hate.  Jesus says if you love money, you are going to hate God.  However, if you are going to love God, you are going to have to hate wealth.

Loving both simply does not mix, try as you might.

So let's get this straight:  Jesus says you will love money and hate God, OR, you will love God and hate money.

This is what Jesus leaves us with in His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount.  He doesn't leave us room for both.

Of course, such offends our American sensibilities.  It especially offends our American Christian sensibilities.  For we have this tendency to look at wealth as a blessing from God and a sign of Divine favor.  It's become the seal of our righteousness, the proof that God loves us, and that He is on our side!

Far from looking at money as a neutral thing, as Christians we should be as uncomfortable around it as we are idols.  And if we aren't, we can be assured that we are on the fast track to making money our idol and master.  And worst of all, far from being a sign of God's favor and blessing in our lives, it is a warning sign from God that we are on our way to hating Him instead of loving Him.

How to Escape Poverty

The rich man’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty. ~ (Proverbs 10:15; NASB)

In the world we live in, money begets money, and poverty begets poverty.  The rich have a tendency to get richer, and the poor have a tendency to get poorer.  Unlike the theories of Karl Marx, this is not primarily the result of the rich exploiting the poor, although that does happen a bit.

Rather, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is more like a law of physics.  It's akin to gravity and all of its forces. And whether you like it or not, it's just the way this world works.

Sorry Karl Marx and friends.

That's why it is so hard on individuals who are living in poverty, whether it be in America, France, or Calcutta, to escape poverty.  Poverty has a way of acting like quicksand.  The more you struggle in it, the deeper and quicker you tend to sink, and the harder it is to get free.  The only way out of it is either for somebody to help you out of it, or to make deliberate and carefully calculated moves until you eventually free yourself.

The Biblical author of Proverbs observed this phenomenon in his own life.  But instead of talking about it in terms of quicksand, he likened the entire issue unto a fortress.

Back in the early days of human civilization, there was a tendency for cities to build large walls around the borders of a town.  This was smart primarily for two reasons.  First, it kept wild animals from randomly wandering into your territory late at night, and eating your next of kin.  Second, it protected the citizens of your city from gangs and small armies looking to pillage and to loot.

Wealth is like this fortress.

If you are wealthy, that is, if you have more than the basic resources needed to sustain your life and provide for some simple creature comforts, your wealth becomes like a fortress.  Your wealth protects you from "random" animals from wandering into your village and eating you, and it also keeps others from randomly pillaging your possessions.

For example, if you are wealthy, when your car randomly breaks down, you can afford to get it fixed.    Fixing your car is still expensive, but because of your wealth, getting it fixed becomes a mere inconvenience.  But when you are poor, if your car breaks down, and you can't afford to fix it, what alternatives do you have?  You might be able to take a loan out.  But what if nobody will give you a loan?  Then you might find yourself without transportation.  And if you live more than a few miles away from work, all of a sudden your job is in jeopardy if you no longer have reliable transportation to get to work.  And if you can't get to work anymore, how will you afford to pay for food and shelter?

Likewise, while being wealthy can make you a target ("Hey, look at that nice big city over there!  I bet they have a lot of food and gold!") those who are wealthy have a way of protecting themselves from those who are looking to "pillage" them.  If they are faced with an ethical dilemma at work, or are being harassed by superior, then if one has saved up enough money, one could easily just quit their job and look for work elsewhere.  Or, if somebody decides to terrorize you with a frivolous lawsuit, being able to afford "umbrella insurance" and an attorney will protect you against something that would destroy and otherwise ruin many others.

So, what can be learned from all of this?

Biblically speaking, we should make sure that when it comes to our personal finances, that we try to save as much as we possibly can.  I know, saving money can be a very difficult thing to do.  But like giving, saving is something we must all do.  And even as the poorest amongst us can usually find something we can give to charity, even the poorest amongst us can usually find something we can save and set aside for the future.

And we need to do such, because we know we live in a world where "life happens."  Life happens to the rich, and life happens to the poor.  Life happens to those who trust in God, and life happens to those who do not.

But when we do all we can to muster up some money to save, dollar by dollar and brick by brick, we begin to build a fortress in our lives.  It may take many years to complete a walled fortress.  It's a slow and labor intensive process.  But it is something we must all do.

Look at those who have built fortresses in the past.  Why did they do such?  In the past they built fortresses because they knew their lives depended on it.  Likewise, you and I should save money like our lives depend on it.

How much should you save?

The answer to this question is going to be different for every person.  But you should save like your life depends on it.  If all you can muster is five or ten bucks a week, you should save what you can, and put it in a place where you can't easily access that money.  If this means setting up a second bank account that's not linked to your checking account, then do it.  If this means getting a piggy bank and stuffing money into it every now and then, then do it.  If this means grabbing a shovel and burying your savings in your backyard, then in God's name, do it!

You may never become very wealthy in this life.  And that is perfectly fine.  Don't try to become wealthy.  The Bible has a ton of warnings about pursuing wealth.  Trying to get wealthy may damn you for all eternity!

But there is a big difference between trying to pursue wealth and getting rich, and merely looking to build a barrier of protection in your life.  Of course, we cannot make our lives bullet proof.  There are some things that enter our lives that no amount of wealth will protect us from.  Ten out of ten people will ultimately die, as death comes for us all.

But simple things like replacing a flat tire or two should not be something that has the power to ruin the vast majority of our lives.  If we use wisdom to do things like work hard, make a budget, live within our means, and save whatever we can, then the vast majority of us should be able to create some sort of buffer between us and "life happenings."  We need to build fortresses in our lives.

We may still be poor at the end of the day.  But that doesn't mean we have to allow our poverty to ruin us.   Like escaping from quicksand, we can escape the destructive forces of poverty by slowly and carefully working our way out of it.

What Ten Million Shovels can teach us about Money

Let me ask you a simple question:  If I gave you ten million shovels, would that fundamentally change your life?

Probably not.

Indeed, if I offered to give you ten million shovels, you would probably decline the offer.  Even though you know that over time, you could probably sell most of those shovels and make a handsome profit, you probably wouldn't jump at the chance to start a business with the sole purpose of selling shovels.  Indeed, you would probably look at a warehouse full of shovels and just kinda shrug it off, and move on with your life. You wouldn't want the bother. You'd let the next guy in line have them.

Let me ask you another question:  If I gave you ten million dollars, would that fundamentally change your life?

"Absolutely!" you say.

It has been commonly taught over the years that money is a neutral thing. It's completely amoral. It's neither good nor bad in and of itself.  Dave Ramsey and a lot of pastors teach this.  Money is a mere tool, and could be likened to a shovel.  With a shovel, you could plant a beautiful garden.  Or, if you are a mobster, you can use a shovel to bury the body of somebody like Jimmy Hoffa.  Either way, the shovel is neither good nor bad, it's what you do with it that matters.

Right???

Yet I can't help but wonder, if money is so neutral as people usually say it is, then why is it that money has the ability to fundamentally change our lives in a way that shovels never can?

Ten million dollars has the power to change your life in the way ten million shovels never could.... unless you are Jimmy Hoffa.

Indeed, money changes people.

And if money can change people, then I think it is a bit dangerous for us to ever call money a neutral thing, and liken it unto a mere tool.  Indeed, I worry that those who say money is a neutral thing have already come under its spell, and aren't properly prepared for the responsibility of handling it.

People marry for money.  People divorce over money.  People fight for money.  People work hard for money.  People kill for money.  People risk their lives for money.  People worry about money.  People lose their souls over money.

If money's involvement in my life has the ability to possibly damn my soul, then maybe money isn't so neutral after all.  Maybe it is more than a mere tool.  

10 Signs of a Money Hungry Church

In a recent post, since the Bible has many sayings that warn against "the love of money," and being so successful that you "gain the whole world but lose your own soul," I thought it was appropriate to write about 10 Signs You Might Love Money.  Today, I thought it would be appropriate to expand on this topic, and provide a list of 10 signs that demonstrate that your church has a problem with the love of money.

My insight from this post comes from years of having served in just about every capacity of the church, both in big churches and small churches. In the process, it has been my observation that few things hinder a church from being all that God has called it to be more than a love of money, and yet at the same time, fewer sins are so casually dismissed among leaders in the church.

Yet fewer sins will ruin a church and ministry more than their love for money.  Therefore, if we care anything about God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the people we are trying to reach, we ought to guard our collective hearts from the love of money.

10 Signs of a Money Hungry Church:

1. A general lack of financial transparency:  If members of the church aren't freely allowed to "see the books," and aren't provided a detailed financial accounting of the amount of income the church receives, and where it spends its resources, then your church has something to hide.

2. If the pastors total compensation package is a secret, or known only to a few people, then the church likely hides his compensation because it knows most people would find his salary extravagant, and such would undermine his credibility and authority.

3. If the pastor regular drives a new car, has a large house (which few members ever visit!), is regularly changing his wardrobe out for the latest in fashion, and frequently sports a new hair-cut,  then these are all signs of not only great affluence, but the entitlement mentality that comes with wealth.

4.  If a large percentage of the elders, deacons, teachers, or lay-leaders are affluent businessmen and retirees.  Many churches these days have a "pay to play" attitude.  That is, if you wish to be in a position that influences the life of the church, you need to give a significant amount of money on  a regular basis in order to do so.  Because, an increasing number of churches these days bar those who don't give "above and beyond" from official ministry within the church, then church leadership is generally composed of those who can "afford" to give.  These men are often awarded positions of leadership in the church, knowing such will keep them "invested" in what goes on, and guarantees a regular source of revenue.

5.  If your church has a regular devotional message that accompanies the offering taken up during a worship service.  This is often done with accompanying music playing in the background.  Officially, it is typically said that this is done to provide a "worshipful" atmosphere in giving, and to incorporate it into the general flow of a worship service.  But in truth, this is usually done as a subtle form of manipulation.  It's the equivalent of playing a sad Sara McLachlan song during a ASCPA commercial.  Once your heart strings are plucked, your purse strings often are too.

6. If your church or denomination makes "tithing" one of its fundamentals of faith or part of its core practical values, then money is clearly at the heart of the organization.  Frankly, as Christians we should be offended that right up there with major doctrines like the deity of Jesus Christ, doctrines associated with "giving" are listed as a fundamental of the Christian faith.  While giving is very important in the life of the church, I can think of many other spiritual disciplines that are more essential to her health.

7. "Sacrificial giving" towards the church is encouraged, especially around Christmas time, and shortly after New Years. This is done, after all, to compete with the money you might otherwise spend at Target, and to capture as much income from the larger than normal size of the crowds typically visiting at Christmas time.  It is also done after New Years in order to take advantage of your all your new resolutions, or tax refund money you might get from the IRS.

8. The church never encourages you to give directly to the poor, and is upset if you "tithe" your income towards ministering directly to the poor.  After all, every good theologian knows that the local church is the "storehouse"  that you are to "bring" your tithes, and "give" your offerings at.  If your church in any way monitors your level of giving, and your pastor is deeply concerned about where you give your money to, then this is a major sign that your church loves money.  A pastor should have almost no knowledge of who personally gives what and where in the church.

9. The heavy use of creative arts, stage props, and technology in worship services and in preaching:  If Sunday morning often resembles a rock concert, such requires a ton of dollars to facilitate, and often a small army of professionals.  Such flashy services make the church highly dependent upon wealth to maintain its essential functions.  The monthly light bill for such a worship experience can often be thousands upon thousands of dollar in order to function.

10.  If the church has a large amount of debt, and/or takes out large lines of credit in order to help fund building programs, then this is a big red flag.  There is nothing that says "I love money" more than borrowing cash.  Such puts incredible financial burdens upon churches, and with it, opens the doors for incredible spiritual abuse by those in leadership.  Such requires the church to start acting more and more like a business, and less like a family, in its daily life.  In your personal finances, there is almost no excuse for excessive levels of personal debt.  In the corporate life of the church, this is also true.  Yet many ministries find themselves deeply in debt.  They are doing it "in faith" of course to support some big "vision."  But such an excuse does not make it ok.

10 Signs You Might Love Money

As is well known, the Bible says "the love of money is the root of all evil."  Few people give any thought to their love for money.  Money is celebrated, and those who have it are thought of as being virtuous in our society.  Indeed, poverty is often thought to be the result of a lack of moral character, and those who are poor are thought to be cursed.  Unfortunately, the church has done little to challenge this conception.  As it turns out, many in the church have tied wealth and financial gain to the Gospel, and a growing number of pastors are living high off the hog as a result of the "blessings" associated with their ministry.

Being that "the love of money" is not something we think much about, I thought it would be helpful to put together a small list together of things I believe show that you are infected with the love of money.

1. You worry about money:  We worry about the things we love.  Whether or not you are rich or poor, if you find yourself regularly worrying about your personal finances, you just might be in love with your money.   This is especially true if you worry to the point of losing sleep, or fighting with your spouse.
2. You don't make a budget:  Unless you wake up in the morning and go outside and pick money off the branches of the money tree you have growing in your back yard, you need to make a budget.  Because if you aren't making a regular budget and tracking your spending, then the chances are money is ruling your life in the form of overspending.
3. You are never able to save any money:  Unless you are living in deep poverty or are simply giving every last cent you make to the poor, you should be able to save a portion of every paycheck you cash.  Living paycheck to paycheck may be the common American experience.  But, if you are only one paycheck away from disaster because you have no savings, then money has too much power in your life, because failing to get paid has the power to destroy you.  Money should never have this much power in your life.
4. You are deeply in debt:  This problem is related to everything said thus far.  If you don't make a budget and don't save any money, you are probably having to regularly go into debt to cover unexpected expenses, or "splurges."  And when you take out enough debt, you create another monthly expense that has the power to bring worry into your life, because you constantly worry that you won't have enough money to cover your additional expenses.
5. You aren't a giver:  If you aren't regularly and systematically giving your money to charity and those in need (or you are giving simply so you can get a tax write-off), then the money in your life consumes you, as you are unable to let go of any of it.  You should regularly look for ways to expand your giving, especially in the area of giving directly to those who are poor.  If you judge them by saying things like "But they'll just spend it on booze and drugs!" then you love money too much.
6. You don't forgive personal loans made to others:  It's amazing how many people sue other people, especially close friends and family, simply because that individual has failed to repay what they have promised.  If somebody hits you up for some money, just give it to them with no strings attached.  If they repay you, great.  But if they don't, then don't let that ruin your relationship with that individual.  Prefer to lose money over family and friends.
7. Money keeps you from getting married, having kids, or making other major life decisions:  A lot of "millennials" have delayed making major life choices simply because they feel that they don't have the necessary financial security in order to do so.  As a result, an increasing number of people are waiting until they are 30 or older before finally "getting on" with life.  For some, their wallet leads in areas where their heart should.
8. You are involved in a multi-level marketing scheme, or are regularly trying to "get rich quick":  When I was 19 years old and in college, two of my friends that were engaged were recruited into a multi-level marketing program, and decided to drop out of college.  Their logic was that they didn't need to go to college anymore, because they were going to become "millionaires" within the next year, and would be able to retire.  Needless to say, things didn't work out for them like they thought.
9. You regularly buy the newest, biggest, baddest, coolest, brand name items:  If you feel you are regularly "entitled" to luxury items simply because you work hard and "deserve" the finer things in life, then money has a hold on you. "Work hard and play harder" may sound like a great motto to live by.  But in truth, most people who quote this motto really don't work all that hard to begin with.  They just feel entitled to stuff, and are in love with "bling."
10. You make grand moral judgments about others because of their level of poverty/wealth:  I once was part of a church where the vast majority of the congregation was poor.  I was surprised how many people in the church had harsh feelings towards those who were middle-class or above.  Bitter and jealous comments abounded.  Attitudes and comments such as I heard made me very aware that poor people are just as capable of greed.  "Greed," is not a vice unique to those who are wealthy.  

This list is by no means exhaustive.  What are some other ways you think we demonstrate we are in love with money?  Feel free to comment below...

I. Heart. Money.

I believe if you were to ask a lot people if they loved money, generally speaking, they would probably say "yes." They might add a disclaimer to their affirmation, but their answer would essentially still boil down to a yes. And why not? Money gets you so many things. It allows you to do everything from putting food on the table, to gaining political power and influence. Money, they even say, makes the world go round.

Money is greatly celebrated in our culture. Hip-hop and rap artists frequently make songs about it, and feature it as an important "prop" in their music videos. They show that money is the key to getting bling and having a nice "life." Money is so important to us as a nation that we even have entire cable channels, like CNBC and Fox Business News, dedicated to around the clock coverage of news stories and shows that focus on nothing but money related issues.

Some of us would deny having an intense love for money. But our hearts otherwise betray us. "It's just a tool," we say. Few things will spark more emotion from people than money. Research has shown that money is the primary thing that married couples tend to fight over most, and money problems have resulted in many people who otherwise had an intense romantic love for one another getting a divorce.

A comedian once said "Getting a divorce is like getting your heart ripped out through your wallet." Many men jokingly lament that it's always, "cheaper to keep her." And often, when a divorce happens, at least one person is forced to go through bankruptcy court in addition to divorce court.

I can't personally relate to getting divorced, but I remember this one time I was in a long term relationship that went bad. I remember that one of the first thoughts that entered my head shortly after we broke up was "this sucks... but on a brighter note, I'll finally be able to save some money." I was shocked that this thought entered my head so quickly after the event. My wallet suddenly felt a little bit better. Benjamin Franklin's make for great tissues in which to dry our tears upon. It's a funny thing how money comforts us and touches us on an emotional level.

For example, I work in the financial services industry at a really big national bank. In a prior position, I had to fly all over the country and participate in many court facilitated conferences to try and help people who were having financial troubles. I know from first-hand experience that I've never seen people get more emotional than when I sat down as a bank rep, to have a "heart to heart," with people over their financial challenges.

I'm a super nice guy, and to my recollection, I can't ever recall saying anything to anybody in my entire life that inflicted so much pain in their hearts so as to make anybody cry. I care about people and geniunely love them. But when I went to court to talk to people about restructuring their finances, sometimes I had to have some very difficult conversations with individuals, and those conversations sometimes made people extremely upset, to the point they busted out in tears, which stopped court proceedings, as people had to be excused so that they could collect themselves.

But I can relate. I remember a time when I was going through my own money troubles. My income was very low, but my bills were very high, and I didn't have the ability to make all of my ends meet. I was single, and didn't have to take care of anybody but me. If I got kicked out of my apartment for failing to pay rent, I always had parents who loved me and would be more than glad to let me move back in with them. I had little to lose, except my dignity and pride. But in spite of this, I regularly lost sleep, as I couldn't do anything but stay up and worry about my money woes. I was full of so much worry... and all over money.

As it also turns out, worrying about money isn't a problem only poor people have. People who are well-off and wealthy worry about money too. One millionare I knew once told me that to him, "a million dollars represents a million problems." First, he has to make sure the money is stored in a safe location so that somebody doesn't just steal it. So he puts the money in a bank. Then while in the bank, he has to make sure inflation doesn't eat up his hard earned savings like a moth eats a sweater. So he has to make sure he invests his money in financial instruments that will gain enough earnings to protect him from inflation, but at the same time, make sure he limits his exposure to the market, so as to not become poor overnight because of a stock market crash. Then of course, he has to worry about his children never growing up and becoming financially independent, because they look at their father as a cash cow, and are ready to seize his assets as soon as he dies. His money, which appears to be a great blessing to many, is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

Rich and poor, we all tend to worry about money. And reflecting on these things, I tend to think as human beings that we only worry about those things which we love and care about. And if we find ourselves worrying regularly about money, I think it might be due to the fact that we have an attachment to it that is greater than the purpose of paying our bills, and putting food in our bellies. We worry about money because we love it. But the end, this thing that we love so much often ends up destroying us.

No wonder the Bible is full of warnings about money. Warnings, I think we as Christians living in America would do well to seriously consider. Money is often made out to be a merely neutral thing, a mere tool of many different tools in our shed. But the more I read the Bible, the more I become convinced that money is not the neutral thing that it appears to be. And in my experience, those who frequently point out that money is merely a tool, tend to be the individuals that love money the most. And "the love of money," which consumes so many of us, truly ends up "consuming" us in the end.

No wonder Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. While we probably all wish that the only temptation we suffered in this life was the problem of having too much money, in reality, being "blessed" with a surplus of greenbacks and gold tends to only plunge us into the worst of possible problems.

We often see this with people who win the lottery and become multi-millionaires overnight. Even people who win hundreds of millions of dollars end up seeing their lives wrecked as a result. This has happened with so many people that there is said to be a "lottery curse."

Or consider TV shows like "The People's Court" or "Judge Judy." See how many people on those shows end up suing close family members and friends over a few bucks. Such suits often destroy the deeply woven bonds of people with long histories. And all over a few bucks that most people would have never missed to begin with! But money became more important to them than the relationships they had. They were wronged out of their money, so they sued somebody they loved, as a matter of "principle." So they went to court all over something as silly as money, and lost a friend or family member for the rest of their lives in the process.

In the end, the love of money destroys us and those around us. It is no wonder that Jesus said the love of money will cause so many people to lose their own souls. It truly is the root of all sorts of evil. Money is something we would do well to purge from our hearts, and it is something we would do well to never chase.