The Trouble With Money

Money makes me nervous. It's not that I don't like it - I'm just afraid of liking it too much. We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking and talking about it. Whether it's at home, work, or even at church, the subject of money easily and often dominates the agenda. And usually the conversation centers on the fact that we don't seem to have enough.

I know it's necessary in many ways, I realize it can be used for great good, and yes, I know the church needs it to carry out ministry. But is it the central issue we so often turn it into? Let's be honest, we tend to make money the repository of all our problems and the solution to all our dilemmas. We believe that if we just had more, everything would be okay. Even in our churches, we frequently make money the scapegoat for our failure to carry out the mission of Jesus, despite the fact that Jesus himself was not exactly known for having a lot of disposable income.

I'm afraid I give money too much credit (so to speak), allowing it to consume too much of my attention and provide too many excuses. And the troubling thing is, I don't easily recognize the power it can have over me. Jesus said something about it being easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. As much as we try to gloss over that statement, I think he meant what he said. Money can be powerful and deceptive, making it difficult to discern my true motives and priorities. I can easily rationalize my concern for money with a list of valid needs and noble causes, but sometimes that list hides a great deal of self-interest. I need the grace of God to reveal truth and set me free.

Money has its earthly importance, but it is not the heart of who we are and what we do. I know we need it, but it's not the central issue of life or ministry. The evidence is around us every day. There are families with money that still fracture and break apart, people with means who live empty and meaningless lives, and churches that sit on bank accounts while they die away. At the same time, there are those who are poor in the eyes of the world, but live in love, joy, and contentment; there are churches that have little, but are creating life-changing communities of God's grace. There are some who realize that life and ministry are rooted not in the money available to us, but in the love, grace, and power of God offered to us.

I am shaped by my culture more than I care to admit. We all are. Our churches are. Maybe, through that influence, we have come to care about money too much. While we worry and argue about the dollars, we neglect the greater issues of love, trust, relationships, and the power of God. And if that is indeed the case, all the money in the world is not going to make a difference in our families or churches.