Money and God

Money, its what the American dream is made of…....a nice house, requires money, a new car, requires money, raising kids, requires money….the list could go on for quite a while. For the average American, money is the string that ties their lives together. It wouldn’t be a jump to say that the average American is controlled by their money. But we as Christians are called to a different master, as Luke 16:13 says, we can’t serve both God and money. This verse is pitting Your love for God against one of the strongest influences in the modern world, money. Now money isn’t the real problem the real problem is image, envy and lust. We want something, or want to look a certain way to others, to have a certain image, and money is often times the easiest way to achieve this, so we crave more of it. So let me first explain how this blog post came about. I make a decent amount of money, I have been blessed with the chance in this life that many people will never have. But growing up gave me a point of view that I don’t think many people have either. My parents taught me to tithe since before I can remember, and my dad has taught me the value of a smart purchase, and about buying things we don’t need. So when I hear a friend talk about how amazing it is to make good money, or how nice it is to be “secure” in your income, I am disappointed. First off this friend is not a Christian, so making lots of money to him is a top priority, almost every time I talk with him he will bring it up and explain how happy he is that he makes allot of money. Now here in lies the HUGE difference that I see as a necessity to the Christian life. By no means should we not be happy, but the reason we are happy lies in a different place than my friend here. When I look at the money I make and the job I have my prayer is this: “Thank You God for what You have blessed me with, for the job You have given me, for the things I am able to buy, may I use this money to serve You, may I not use it for selfish gain but give You the glory with it.” Every time money comes into my mind I try and thank God, because He orchestrated everything that brought me to the place I am at now and He can take it away if he desires. And I don't see myself being "rich" my whole life, I have wondered if God will use me for missions, if a life of complete faith in Him for even the next meal is something I can handle. And knowing how amazing His love is and how he never leaves or forsakes us, I believe with my whole heart that he can bring me through anything! So my purpose with this prayer in money is not to live in fear that it could be taken away, but to make Jesus so much more valuable in my life that if money was taken away I would still have everything I need. Don’t take this lack of enthusiasm as indifference, I am overjoyed that God has blessed me in the way that He has, it is a huge honor that I give Him the credit for. But in this rejoicing state, I am always trying to keep in mind the idea that God didn’t bless me with this so that I could go buy a nice car and motorcycle, wear expensive clothes and travel to exotic locations. I see the money as a trust fund that God has handed me. And I have my lifetime to use it to store up treasures in heaven. The purchases and donations I make directly reflect the treasure that is deposited in heaven. So with that in mind, if I go and buy and new car, or a new pare of jeans every week, what deposit is being made into that account?