Do You Love Money?

 Do you love money or do you love people? It is hard to love both at the same time. You can make money to help others, without loving money. I heard a great quote from Pastor Rick Warren, "You can either love people and use money, or you can use money and love people." It is ironic that he said that, since he had one of the largest churches in the U.S.  He dealt with a ton of money throughout his life. He wrote the best selling book of all time, "The Purpose Driven Life." But God blessed him with a Lot of money Because he loved people so much. He deserved it. I have always said the same about Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. They deserve to be so blessed with money. The more you seek to help others, the more God will bless you with money so that you can help others more. God blesses people so they can be a blessing.

With one of my former room mates, I thought of letting her stay here for free because she was such a nice person. Maybe God wanted me to show her that I cared about her more then money. With every person you know you will have to make that decision, do you love them or do you love money? It is hard to be focused on money and be focused on genuinely caring about another person at the same time. The love of money is the root of all evil. You can't really love others and love money. 

Money is just meant to be a tool. God gives us money so that we can care better for others. If you are blessed, you are blessed to be a blessing. God never blesses someone just so they can sit on it. He intends for those who have a lot to share it with others. Sadly a lot of people who have a lot don't realize this is their purpose, to help others, and so they are miserable because they are missing their purpose. 

I remember when I got my first car I told God, "If you help me get this car I promise I will give a ride to anyone who needs one." And I did. :) I have pretty much done that with my house too. I have given a room to anyone who really needed a room, sometimes for free, sometimes not free. But I know God blessed me with my house so I could bless others with it. Whatever you have, God wants you to share it with others. "It is more blessed to give then to receive." You will be more happy when you give some of what you have and share it. Sharing is caring. :)

Here are some good verses on money:

Hebrews 13:5 

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Always remember, even if your money runs out, you will always have God. Put your trust in God to provide for you, not money. So many people are unhappy because money is their god rather then God, but they know how unstable money is. So then they always live in fear, because they know how quickly money can disappear. Money comes and goes so quickly. You can blow through 20k in a few months. I know because I have done that a few times. :) Money is not a good god. If flies away very easily. Only God is a good God. He remains forever. 

1 Timothy 6:10 

"The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

Wandering away from the faith is pretty serious. So many choose money over God, and they are willing to go to hell for it. I have never been willing to go to hell for a little bit of cash. I don't care what I could buy with the money, it's not worth going to hell. I hope you realize how serious it is when you love money too much. 

I have seen many people that said they loved God, but I could tell they loved money WAY more then they loved God. If you love buying stuff, you love money more then God. If you love food too much, you love money more then God. 

Matthew 6:24 

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Money seems to promise to provide for you and protect you like a god, but it can only do so much. Money is just an object. It is not the all powerful being that God is. It is very limited in its capabilities. It might seem powerful. It might make you feel powerful for a little while. But that illusion fades quickly and you realize money is fickle and transitory. 

Money can easily become a master. Every day people who go to work for money are making money their master. It seems like their boss is their boss, but really money is your boss. Your own cravings are your boss. You could walk away from your job at any time. You know there are things you could do to make that happen. But you have let money become your master so it's hard to walk away. You have let it rule over you. You can't imagine living without all that money coming in. You have come to depend on it because you are used to buying whatever you want. You can't imagine cutting back and denying yourself anything. You can't imagine telling yourself no. So you keep working. You keep killing yourself for another dollar, because money is your master. But really your own cravings are your master. 

I have always said our stomach is like an unruly 3 year old. You have to make it obey you. Don't let your stomach be in charge of you. You need to be in charge of your stomach. Just because you are hungry, that doesn't mean you Have to eat right that second. I remember friends growing up would always say, "I'm starving!" I wanted to say, "Really? You just ate 3 hours ago but you're starving? Ok."

This has always been my favorite verse about money:

Ecclesiastes 5:10 

"He who loves money will not be satisfied with any amount of money, nor he who loves wealth with his income."

My pastor used to have a joke he would always say, "How much money is enough? Just a little bit more." He knew how the SoCal people thought. The church was in Irvine, CA. That is one of the richest cities in the U.S. Everyone there was chasing that next dollar non stop. Half my life I have grown up around lots of money and people who love money. I know exactly how they are. They are never satisfied. They could be making 1 million a year and it still wouldn't be enough for them. They could have the coolest car ever, but they still want a different one. They could have the hottest spouse ever, but they are never enough. They are never satisfied. Maybe another outfit will make them hotter, or another boob job. Maybe more make up....Maybe the problem is with you and not your spouse. 

People become that way because they expect money to satisfy them instead of seeking God to satisfy them. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in God." After my time growing up in SoCal I honestly wanted to become a nun. I wanted to live somewhere where money didn't matter. I wanted to live off just the basics and not worship money, like I saw everyone around me doing. They all looked glamorous on the outside, but I knew deep down they were all miserable. Their houses looked perfect, everything about them seemed perfect, but it was a just a show, a mask, a façade. 

And they all thought they loved God. :)

Do you love God? Or do you just love money? Think about it.