The Truth of Your Money Problem
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Matthew 6:25-32
The times when you face extreme financial struggles can be absolutely painful. You may be praying for God to give you a financial breakthrough. It may feel as though you are barely making ends meet and never have enough money to make it through the week, much less the whole month!
And not everything has to be in pieces for something to be considered broken. Financial struggles can pop up when our budgets don’t go exactly according to plan, when you didn’t get that raise you were expecting, or even when you have this nagging sense of discontentment.
Before you go and blame your financial problems on your family members, your job, or the government, let’s first sit down and try to figure out what the root of your financial situation might really be.
When we face money stresses, discontentment, or disappointments, it is no fault of anyone’s. Rather it is a sign of a deeper heart issue. Listen to a few wise words from the Bible as well as from some great authors in regard to the roots of your financial troubles.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17 ESV
“We are seduced into thinking that if having some money made us happy, it stood to reason that having more of it would make us even happier.”
Dave Jataj, Good Work
“Every day millions of us are seduced into asking money to do for us what only God can do.”
Paul David Tripp, Redeeming Money
I find it interesting that both of those quotes above use the word “seduce” to describe the relationship between us and money. This is such an honest depiction of what happens when we start to earn money for the first time. Money is very alluring – or rather all the opportunities that are now available for us once we have money.
The next time you stress out about your financial situation, evaluate your heart to see if you are trying to gain something from your money: security, power, freedom, independence, success?
Go to God today and ask Him to reveal the truth of your money problem.
Katie Jones
Reflection Questions
- It’s easy to reflect on the brokenness of our personal finances after a major tragedy or a personal crisis, but how often do you reflect on its brokenness in your day-to-day life? How might an increased awareness of sin be helpful in your personal finance journey?
- Read Psalm 23. How can this psalm help you during times of financial struggle?
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