It’s only Money
I watched a show the other evening. It was this guy who was helping people out with their finances. Most of the people on the show consistently spent more money then they made in income. It seemed like a straight forward problem. Stop spending so much money! But many of the people did not realize how much they were spending. They did not have the discipline to work out a budget. So anyway, I watched a couple of episodes of his show and there was a formula. First he shows each of the people the excess they had in their lives. He showed them excess of clothes, jewelry, cars, and other stuff. He then estimates a cost for all that stuff. He shows how their daily decisions affected their financial position. He then goes through some other steps. He puts the people on a budget, and they sign a contract. Yet I think one of the most important issues he often deals with is matters of the heart. Why are they spending so much money on stuff? What void are they trying to fill?
Did you know the Bible has over 3,000 references to money? (There are several excellent Christian money management courses. If you have never taken one I can highly advise taking one.) You see the Bible insists that there is some connection between this world and the spiritual world. While many religions are world-denying; the goal is to escape from this world desires. Christianity insists on a connection between the physical and the spiritual. Many of the verses in the Bible about money expose the spiritual nature our relationship to money. The Bible has books of Wisdom which have down-to-earth practical material concerning money, work and other day to day living. As such, practical matters reflect on spiritual matters.
Much of today’s living is about material wealth. The philosophy of the modern world is that wealth equals happiness. Watch any advertisement, read any magazine and the message is; obtain these things and you will be happy. The truth is that sort of happiness is fleeting. Real lasting joy, peace, or happiness is not obtained in such a way. Ecclesiastes was written by a man who had everything that his heart could desire. He denied himself nothing, and he could afford it, yet he found no meaning in it.
If we try to fill our lives with things we will never be filled. If we try to find meaning in ourselves alone, we find the world a shallow place. Pascal, said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” I would like to add, once God fills that vacuum, He creates in us a real love for other people. Once we reach that place we realize that “its only money.”
Rev. Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
