As I observe fellow-Christians, I have noticed some general patterns of thinking when it comes to money. Certain things that Christians, as a group, believe with respect to money. When a brother or sister does not conform to these widely-held beliefs, this will often trigger our built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarms.
Sadly, many of these widely-held views have no scriptural basis and, in fact, defy common-sense.
Here are my top two.
Wealth-Accumulation is Love of Money
This is an unspoken belief in Christian circles. It is seldom explicitly stated but it is implied in the things we say or point out when this alarm sounds.
The moment a person begins to focus on actively accumulating wealth, our built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarm-bells start to sound. When we talk about building an investment portfolio or ways of expanding our property portfolio, Christian family and friends can quickly become concerned for our spiritual welfare.
The more interest we take in the subject and the more we apply our minds to increasing our financial literacy and the accumulation of wealth through saving and investment, the louder those alarm-bells begin to sound. Well-meaning friends and pastors might caution us against making money an idol in our lives. And not just them; if you have been involved in the church for any length of time, those same bells will begin ringing in your own head.
Pursuit of wealth is love of money, the voices will say. There are more important things in life than money. You know you can’t take it with you. Be careful that you don’t gain the whole world and forfeit your own soul.
Conversely, when it comes to putting a portion of your monthly income into a pension scheme or 401(k) each month the alarm-bells remain strangely silent. Everybody does this, the voices will say. It is sensible to put something aside for your old age.
The fact that anyone putting money into a pension, retirement annuity or 401(k) is actually paying a team of brokers to manage that pension scheme is strangely irrelevant. The fact that other people are investing and growing the portfolio (i.e. accumulating wealth) on our behalf appears not to register on our built-in Christian Love-of-Money radars.
It’s almost as if there is an unspoken belief among Christians that taking control of your own financial affairs is wrong but paying someone you’ve never met to do it for you is okay.
There is simply no scriptural basis for this mindset. Love of money is a state of heart and a state of mind. Every believer needs to deal with the love of money in their lives whether they manage their own investment portfolio or not.
You think the one who pays into a 401(k) doesn’t love money? Just consider the disappointment or even rage on the face of the last person you spoke to who bemoaned the fact that their 401(k) / retirement annuity was not going to pay out as much as they had hoped it would.
Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness
If you steer the conversation to saving and investment or throw out terms like ‘Passive Income’ and ‘Achieving Financial Freedom’ in Christian circles, expect a reaction. It’s only a matter of time before a fellow-Christian says, ‘That’s all well and good but, remember. Money can’t buy happiness!‘ That is their built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarm-bell sounding.
Don’t hold it against them. I mean this sincerely. This person has the best intentions in the world and their concern is purely for your spiritual welfare.
Conversely, though, you could talk to that same person about the new car or television you’re planning to buy without sounding a single alarm in the conversation.
In fact you could talk about a myriad of things:
- Your last ski trip or overseas holiday
- Tickets to next week’s football or baseball game
- The latest tech gadgets you have bought
- Your new dress, shoes, coat or scarf
- Your latest home decoration overhaul
- The kids’ new games console
- Latest generation of mobile phones on the market
- New films or pay-channel TV subscriptions
- Latest music or sound-blaster to play it on
- Great restaurant experiences or
- Best spa-days away
All of these are purchases we and our fellow-Christians make month-on-month, year-on-year without a second thought.
But what are these things if not fleeting moments of happiness that we buy with money and which are gone within days of their purchase?
The problem isn’t that money doesn’t buy happiness. The problem is that it does – as our first-world materialistic spending patterns prove every day.
The real danger lies in the blinkered thinking that spends all its money buying those fleeting moments of happiness – moments that keep the purchaser in a constant state of financial struggle by the way – and then triggers a Love-of-Money alarm when somebody else elects to forego some of those fleeting purchases in order to invest in their financial future.
The unspoken message is that investing hard-earned cash in assets that grow in value and secure a future income for us and our family is Love of Money but spending it on frivolous fleeting moments of happiness is not.
There is no scriptural basis for this thinking and it defies common-sense to boot. We can’t tell someone who is trying to save money and build a second income from a few rental properties that money can’t buy happiness while we are spending our last dime on a massive tub of popcorn at the cinema!