MONEY - How often have we heard, “It’s the economy, stupid?”  Or, “Money makes the world go `round.”

Jesus said it differently, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” [Matthew 16:26 NIV]

I remember seeing a cartoon where a man, standing next to a low-slung sports car wearing the latest fashion, said to his friend, “I despise my life, but I’m in love with my lifestyle!”

We spend (notice the irony of the word) so much of our time and energy to get the money we need for our lifestyle, yet it cannot give us what we so often think it should provide.  Somewhere along the way we have been “infected” with the myth that money can provide peace of mind.  So we think that if we just had enough money we could live lives unchained from the fear of not having love, happiness or security, as we need them.

The Beatles sang, “Money can’t buy you love…” And it can’t get you happiness.  Nor can it insure security, even though it promises all three.  So what can money give?

Jesus again said it best by using a parable of 3 men [Matthew 25:14-30]. Each received a set amount of money.  One got 5, another 2 and the third received 1 “talent” (each worth over a thousand dollars).  Getting the money didn’t buy them love or happiness or security.  Instead, they were supposed to use the money as a tool for investment.  Not to hoard (like the man who got the 1 talent), but to use for good.

The reward was not to get more money but to, “Come and share your master’s happiness.”  In other words, the purpose of the money was only to use it in a productive way to prepare each man to have a deeper sharing relationship with the source of his funds.  Our goal is not to become cluttered with possessions but to be accountable for the use of God’s gifts so we can surrender our hearts and lives completely to Jesus – our true source of love and joy and peace.

Can we view money as a means and not an end?  A tool and not a ticket to security, happiness or even love?  Can we avoid the temptation to buy into the myth of what money is supposed to offer?  Only if we understand (as Alexander Solzhenitsyn was quoted) that “the meaning of earthly existence lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.”

How do we develop our soul?  It has to do with focus.  We can escape the trap of putting our faith in money by committing ourselves to a positive use of our time, talents and money in the service of our Master, Jesus.  To not be enslaved by our possessions.  To invest our lives in witness and service for Jesus – not the “almighty dollar.”

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” {Luke 12:34 NIV]  Don’t gain the world and all its treasure and lose the very essence of where your heart’s true love, happiness and security lie.

• If money can’t buy security, happiness or love, what good is it?
• What material possessions are threatening to possess me?
• In what ways is Jesus inviting me to invest in my soul development instead of getting money?