BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He himself has said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 CSB
According to Dave Ramsey, there is only one way to offend money: give it away. Money can have a powerful hold on us, but if we give it away, we break its power. People don’t like to talk about money, there is a taboo associated with it. In an article for the New York Times, it stated 43% of Americans don’t know how much money their spouse makes, yet fighting about money is one of the top reasons couples argue. Marriages end because of disagreements about money. Paul tells us in his first letter to Timothy, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wondered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV). This scriptures is often misquoted, money isn’t the root of all kinds of evil, the LOVE of money is the problem.
Why is the love of money an issue? Jesus answers that question for us in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We can’t love both God and money, it’s that simple. Which ever one we love more, it rules our heart and our lives. What do we do to keep our hearts free from the love of money? We offend money by giving it away. Dave Ramsey sums it up this way: “Giving lifts us out of ourselves; we take our eyes off our rights, our problems and our stuff. The new view gives us renewed vision and hope. Giving is powerful.”
And giving will make you happier. Researchers have found three things to be true about giving. First, giving really does make you happier than spending money on yourself. In one part of the study they gave college kids $5 and $20 bills. Half of the group was to spend the money on themselves, the other half was to spend it on others. The half who spent it on others reported a better mood, a sense of purpose and meaning, and greater feelings of over all well being. Secondly, when we give we invest in what we think is important. Supporting your favorite charity, helping others, whatever it is we deem is important, we’re investing in it, not just giving our money away. And lastly, giving breaks money’s power on us. Giving ends arguments, creates unity and most importantly, honors God. Money’s a tough one, if you want to break it’s hold on you, start giving it away. Let God rule your heart, money comes and goes, but God will never leave you.
