Pastor’s Corner: “Heart Disease: Materialism”
1 Timothy 6:17 (NLT) – 17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
When Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19), the term “lay up” did not simply speak of having possessions, but of your possessions having you. “Lay up” could be better translated “hoard” or “stockpile.”
Jesus was not saying that it is wrong to have things. He was warning against becoming materialistic—letting things become more important than God. God created us to love people and use things, but a materialist loves things and uses people (more common in our world today). There is nothing wrong with having possessions and a successful career. The apostle Paul wrote, Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). God can bless a person. In fact, we read in the Bible of those who had wealth, such as Abraham, Job, David, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, and Barnabas.
Jesus did not extol poverty as some great virtue. In fact, only one time did He tell someone—the rich young ruler—to sell his possessions and give to the poor. I think it was because that man was possessed by his possessions. Because when Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21), the Bible says that he went away sorrowful. It was a test to see whether God was more important to him than his things.
God is using money to test you. He doesn’t just automatically give His blessings to anybody. He tests you first to see if you’re responsible. If he can trust you with material possessions, then he can trust you with spiritual power. But if you’re not even managing your money well, why in the world should he give you the stuff that really matters?
Finances are God’s favorite tool to test you. Money shows what you love most. If you really want to know what’s important to you, look at your calendar and your credit card statement, because how you spend your time and money tells others what you love the most. Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT) says, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth . . . Store your treasures in heaven . . . Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” . Wherever you want your heart to be, put your money in it, and you’ll get interested in it. Money shows what you really trust most.
Money is not the root of all evil; the love of it is. The problem with wealth is not in having it. It is how we get it. It is how we guard it. And it is how we give it.
In His Grace
Pastor Hamilton