It’s absolutely astounding how much of our lives seem to revolve around money.
Money is probably the most powerful tangible in the world today. It brings happiness for some, complete ruin for others. People marry into and for money, and money is probably one of the most prevalent reasons so many marriages fail. We lay awake in our beds for hours at night doing the upcoming pay-period’s math in our heads. We give others money just so they can help us manage the rest of our money.
Yesterday, I had serious brake work done to my car. Almost $900. I felt so sick to my stomach when I got the quote. I was on my way to work and all of a sudden I lost all pressure in my brake pedal. It’s a miracle I was able to escape the 8 lane freeway and make it to a shop. I had blown a pad a while back yet continued to drive on it. This, in turn, broke the brake line and all my fluid leaked out. I also really screwed up my master cylinder. It’s my fault. I didn’t take care of my brakes and I’ve paid a heavy price (literally).
After a couple hours of almost vomiting, I really began to see how much of a slave to money I can be. Many will tell you that Dallas is the most materialistic city in the country next to Los Angeles. People rack up massive amounts of debt to have in three years what took their parents 30 years to obtain. I’ve got some debt myself and I’m definitely not proud of it. If I didn’t have the debt (school loans and some credit), I’d easily be able to afford a new car.
Convicting.
I’ve devoted this upcoming year to getting as much debt paid off as humanly possible. My tax rebate will be going straight into paying it off, although it looks like the vast majority of it will simply be offsetting what I paid to have my car fixed. My goal is to eventually be able to help support my best friend, Zack and his soon-to-be wife Meredith when they settle down to plant a church in Cincinnati in a couple years. I had all these aspirations of getting a high paying job and using a lot of it to help support them and that church because Lord knows I don’t have the balls (or the calling) to put myself in such a financially dependent situation for planting. And as I was thinking about it, I again realized that if were not for my debt, I could easily provide the monthly number I had in my head to support them.
And I feel ashamed by that.
But praise God that I have been able to begin putting more into my monthly payments so that eventually I’ll get it all taken care of over the next two or three years. I am constantly challenging myself with the Word in making the right financial decisions as to honor God with my stewardship of his resources. It is all his after all. But just like you and everyone else, I still enslave myself to the bondage of money at times. Dollar signs have a way of obscuring memories of God’s faithfulness in provision.
There are obviously countless scriptures on stewardship I could quote to you. But if you find yourself empathizing with me in a way that my struggle in this area mirrors your own, I’d challenge us both with what over the last few years has become my life-verse:
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. -Isaiah 26:3 (emphasis mine)
No, it’s not about money.
And that’s exactly what it’s about.
Money is only just one thing we tend to idolize and enslave ourselves to instead of placing ourselves and all we have in God’s care and control. We tend to make money the focus (and understandably so), but it’s really all about who we’re going to crown the Lord of our lives. We’re promised we’ll be kept in “perfect peace” when we put our trust in God’s sovereignty. Getting this straight is paramount. Everything else will fall into place “according to his good purpose.”
Pray that I’m not so hard-headed that I fail to be challenged by my own words…
…which aren’t really mine anyway.
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