Tag: christian finance

The Devil’s Greatest Trick

Posted on by richabbaholyabba

“The Greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

Charles Beaudilaire

This also became the catch-phrase in the popular 1995 cult film, The Usual Suspects starring Stephen Baldwin among others.

That quote is just as applicable to the love of money. So easy to spot in someone else but almost impossible to detect in one’s own heart.

It’s easy to point out the love of money in the entrepreneur. One who embarks on the journey in search of financial freedom. When a person begins investing and actively accumulating wealth in the form of assets they must love money, right?

Most people do not spend their lives building up an investment portfolio. Most of us simply climb on the hamster wheel each day and go to work.

We buy a house because this is a sensible investment and we work hard to pay off the mortgage. We trade up as our family (and our income) expands and move into a bigger home, buy a newer car, climbing the corporate ladder and piling money into our pension fund so that someday we can retire.

We enjoy the luxury of living in a home we can barely afford and revel in the security of a job that pays the mortgage even when we take our annual vacation or when we occasionally fall ill. We cross our fingers and hope that the money we pay into the pension fund each month will sustain us in our retirement.

All the while, we run up our credit card debt, acquiring new furniture, new computers and mobile phones for the kids. Or paying for our annual vacation, knowing that our next promotion or increase will cover these expenses in due course. When all else fails, we take our bank manager’s advice and consolidate our credit card debt into the mortgage. This reduces the monthly interest – and frees us up to reach into our wallet for the credit card once more to buy life’s next essential product.

We daren’t quit our job as this will bring the entire edifice crashing down and we daren’t leave work early to watch the kids’ school play or baseball match as this might cost us that promotion we so desperately need to keep the all the plates spinning. All to ensure that nobody ever sees how precarious our financial situation has become.

Of course, this seems less like a love of money than, say, building an investment portfolio worth a million dollars. Probably because it’s so normal. After all, most of our peers are in the same boat. How could it be wrong?

The truth is, this desperate need for job security is little more than fear of loss and the obsessive focus on consumer spending is little more than greed or desire for material gain. This is the love of money in its stealthiest form. Nobody plans for this life. None of us pictured this as living the dream back in our twenties. 

Rather, we started out with far nobler intentions. Then life happened and a series of rather sensible choices over time landed us in the predicament in which we now find ourselves. The love of money that once promised instant gratification has instead delivered a twisted form of serfdom in which we are little more than wage-slaves treading a hamster wheel from which there seems to be no escape.

Yet, when we examine our own hearts, what do we see?

We are not out buying private yachts. Instead, we are struggling to keep our heads above water.

Far from lusting after riches, we are barely able to make ends meet.

Chasing after wealth? You’re kidding! We are fighting for survival.

We hear a sermon about the love of money. We look around and see it everywhere. The rich and famous, Silicon Valley, Wall Street, the list goes on. Finally, we turn our attention inwards, seeking out the love of money our own hearts. And like that… it’s gone!

Recognising the Love of Money

Posted on by richabbaholyabba

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:10

I’m sure you have heard this verse quoted and misquoted ad nauseum throughout your life.

Who among us has not heard someone say ‘Money is the root of all evil’? I’ve heard many preachers address this misquote from the pulpit. Preachers and teachers are quick to point out that the Bible does not say money itself but, rather, the love of money is the root of all evil.

The more common misunderstanding, however, is seldom addressed from the pulpit. Namely the conclusions we draw from this verse – particularly as Christians.

We understand that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Correct! So we conclude, by extension,  that the acquisition of wealth must be the root of all evil. And the possession of money is the root of all evil. Furthermore, we conclude that anyone who has acquired or is in the process of acquiring riches must be doing so because they love money. Why?

Here is the news-flash. You don’t have to be rich to love money!

This is the first step to understanding God’s word as it pertains to wealth.

It is imperative that we understand this. I believe that 1 Timothy 6:10 is one of the most commonly misquoted – and misunderstood – verses in the Bible.

When we understand this truth, we realise 1 Tim 6:10 is actually the great equaliser. Rich or poor, anybody can love money. None of us is exempt.

Take your average hard-working person, for instance. We work ten to sixteen hours a day in jobs we hate just to keep pace with our ever-increasing bills – and the neighbors. Marriages break down and children end up in therapy because parents are simply never around. We’re too busy working to give our children the things we never had when we were growing up. 

All the while we pat ourselves on the back saying, our value system is more Biblical. We’re not like those materialistic rich people where everything is just about money. We choose not to pursue riches because the love of money is the root of all evil.

We need to be honest with ourselves and ask the question. Could it be the love of money that drives us to the office each day? Could it be the love of money that keeps us locked in a cycle of acquiring things and constantly spending just a little more than we earn? Do we really need that extra living room in the more expensive suburb, or the new car and flat-screen TV that eats up the pay increase we just got?

I’m not saying rich people don’t love money. Many do. I’m simply saying let’s not judge them too harshly because none of us is immune. The love of money is sin – and we are all sinners.

When we recognise this, we can begin to rectify the problem. I have found that, far from denying us true wealth, understanding 1 Timothy 6:10 and applying it to our lives can be the very key to unlocking the financial freedom so many people seek.

Take a look at some of the common Love of Money Blinkers that prevent us from recognising love of money in our own lives and keep us locked in financial struggle at the same time.