be burdened with money
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income…” – Ecclesiastes 5:10
Believers in the workplace are especially sensitive to a trap in their spiritual lives – a trap that other people may not be so sensitive to. That trap is money. Scripture tells us that if our basic needs like food and clothing are being met, we are considered rich. Jesus warned us against living a lifestyle that requires more than our basic needs. However, it is clear that Jesus was not against wealth, but against dependence on wealth. Jesus consistently taught that dependence on anything other than God was evil. Whenever Jesus determined that money was an issue for a person, He addressed it and found that the person could not let it go. This was true for that rich young ruler. When he was talking about what he must do to inherit the kingdom, Jesus told him to do the one thing that would be most difficult – give up his possessions and follow Him. Jesus was not saying that this is what every person should do, just the rich young ruler, because Jesus knew that this was their greatest hindrance. For others of us, it may be something else that Jesus would tell us to give up (see Matthew 19:16-30).
In the Parable of the Sower, in which He describes four types of people, Jesus also gives us another example of the problem money can create for any follower of Jesus.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them. Some fell on rocky places, where there was not much soil. Because the soil was shallow it sprang up quickly. But when the sun came out, the plants were scorched, and having no roots, they withered. Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil, where They produced a harvest—a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:3b-8).
“The same man that received the seed which fell among the thorns heareth the word: but the cares of this life, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke him, and make him unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).
Like the frog in the boiling pot, if we are not careful we slowly start gaining and running the treadmill of material gain. People around us start expecting more. Soon we start expanding our lifestyle. Before we know it, we’re worrying about how to take care of what we acquire. Our emphasis is on what we have versus our relationship with Jesus and His kingdom. One day I woke up and realized that my heart was cold toward God. Indifference toward the things of God became apparent. I was still going through the motions of service to God, but without any power. We wake up to realize that Christ is no longer Lord of our lives, much less of our riches. The more freedom money gives us, the less dependence we need on God. Christ talked a lot about money in the kingdom because he knew what a big problem it was. That’s why we have so few people producing 100, 60, or 30 times the seed sown.
Do you have the same hunger for God as you once had? Have financial blessings had an adverse effect on your passion for Jesus Christ? Ask Him today if your heart has grown cold as a result of financial blessings. Ask Him to keep you hungry for more of His presence in your life.
