Tuesday, October 26

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.

Proverbs 18:10-11

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I had just ____________ (fill in the blank) more in my back account, retirement fun, investment portfolio (pick one), THEN I would be happier and more secure!” My guess is – if we are honest – most of us have! The amount that we think would fill in the blank might differ - $1,000 or $10,000 or $1,000,000 – but we all have a number that we think would make us feel more secure.

The ancient writer of the Book of Proverbs is pointing out that wealth not only can become our “comfort zone”, but we can also begin to find our security and identity in our wealth – which are much deeper and almost spiritual issues. Most of us spend at least some time and energy in financial planning. And this is a good thing! The Bible actually encourages us to be good stewards of the blessings God provides – and that wise planning is part of that. But it is interesting that we tend to refer to the goal of financial planning as “financial security” rather than, say, something like “potential generosity!”

Because we live in a culture that encourages us to see wealth as a source of comfort, security and identity, we are tempted to love money. This is why Jesus warned that “You cannot serve God and Mammon (Money)” (Matthew 6:24). This is why the Apostle Paul warned that “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). And when we begin to love our wealth and when we begin to place our security and identity in our wealth, we tend to hold on to it tighter and tighter and we resist Jesus’ call into generous living.

In the story of the poor widow giving her two small copper coins, Jesus marvels at her extraordinary act of generosity. Obviously, he not impressed with the amount of her gift – but with the spirit of her gift. If anyone needed money for security – she did! And yet she gave all she had.

Now I don’t necessarily think that Jesus is saying that we all have to put everything we have into the offering plate this week. But I do think he wants to think carefully about our relationship to wealth: about the role that wealth might play in the way we feel about ourselves, about whether or not we find our security in money, and about how that relationship with wealth manifests itself in our generosity.

Ask God to help you wrestle honestly with the role that money plays in your life – and to help you find your deepest security in him.

Brian Coffey