Jesus called the devil the Father of Lies. In order to deceive us and to diminish God’s power in our lives, the devil targets Christians with his lies to make them ineffective in advancing God’s kingdom or worse still, making them fall away altogether.
When he [the Devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44
Some of the biggest lies that Christians believe are in the area of money and finances. When Christians believe these lies, the devil damages their relationship with God and renders them ineffective. There are several money lies we believe as Christians.
By recognizing these lies for what they are and choosing to overcome them, Christians can find freedom and become truly effective in advancing God’s kingdom.
Money Lies we Believe
1. You Deserve This
The Lie…
Don’t Pursue riches; it’s love of money… buy this new car, set of golf clubs, necklace or dress instead. You deserve it!
The Result…
I have heard it said that the best lies are rooted in 90% truth. And this is a prime example. It is the Devil’s diversion tactic that focuses all our attention on one truth while blinding us to another.
Of all the money lies we believe, this is probably the most destructive. When we believe this lie, we become slaves to consumerism and materialism without ever realizing that the love of money has already taken root in us. By focusing on and avoiding the Pursuit-of-Riches-Love-of-Money, we create blinkers that prevent us from seeing the Materialism-Love-of-Money the Devil has planted in our hearts. This affects our Christian walk, our relationship with God and it keeps us in a place of constant financial struggle.
The Truth…
Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
Proverbs 21:20
When we recognize that we are already doing battle with the Love of Money, we are able to address the problem. By repenting and changing our spending habits, we can rectify our relationship with God and change our Christian walk for the better.
This also happens to be the first step towards overcoming financial struggle in our lives. By learning godliness with contentment, we are able to stop consuming everything we earn, reduce our expenses and begin paying down the consumer debt that keeps us in financial bondage.
2. Only the Rich Love Money – Not You
The Lie…
You’re not rich so love of money has no hold on you… now get to work so you can pay your bills this month.
The Result…
Still others, like seed thrown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:18-19
In the first-world, this is one of the most pervasive money lies we believe. This lie drowns us in the worries of this life. It convinces us to spend all our time trying to earn money while still believing the love of money has no power over us. As we earn more, so our expenses appear to increase inexplicably, as if by magic. We keep frantically churning the hamster wheel in search of just a little more… and yet there is never quite enough. This is the deceitfulness of riches.
Just as Mark 4:18-19 says, the worries of this life and deceitfulness of riches choke the word of God in our hearts and make us unfruitful. Left unchecked, this lie will forever hold us back from God’s will for us. If we don’t confront it, we are destined to live inconsequential lives that never fulfill God’s purposes simply because we were too busy dealing with the cares of this world.
The Truth…
By learning to be better stewards of the resources with which God has already blessed us, we can escape this cycle and live the life that God intended for us. Rather than allow the metaphorical thorns to choke our spiritual lives, we can break free
3. Freedom can only be achieved through riches
The Lie…
Freedom can only be achieved through riches which equates to love of money… so maintain the status quo; financial struggle will ensure you remain holy.
The Result…
When Christians believe this lie, they reinforce the lies in 1 and 2 above. The result is incessant consumer-spending and a never-ending income-expenditure cycle that keeps us focused on the cares of this world.
Instead of questioning whether this is God’s will for their lives, too many Christians simply accept it and even go so far as to justify their choices by believing this lie.
The Truth…
This is one of the most effective money lies we believe. It presents Christians with a false choice; either pursue riches and the love of money or pursue holiness and a life of financial struggle. The truth is there is a happy medium in which Christians can enjoy the freedom to pursue God’s purposes in their lives, free from the financial shackles that bind… and they don’t need any more money to achieve this. I call this True Wealth.
Riches are the measure of a bank balance. Wealth is the measure of freedom and choice.
By learning godliness with contentment and understanding wise stewardship, we create opportunities for freedom and in our lives. By this, I mean the freedom to choose how we spend our time, the hours we work and where in the world we do that work. This affords us the freedom to live out God’s purposes in our lives.
Simply by:
- changing spending habits
- recognizing that all we have belongs to God and
- learning to be wise stewards of God’s resources
… many Christians could be wealthy beyond measure without being any richer than they are now.