Jesus warned of the dangers of living for money and possessions. He made clear
that you cannot serve God and money, although the world tries to tell you otherwise. The
problem is that the offerings of the world never satisfy so we always need just a little bit
more. I ran across a confession of this very thing in an article by James Altucher, a
financial pundit, that you might find interesting and a reminder of the emptiness of
the world’s promises of satisfaction.
The first time I ever made a lot of money, it did not make me free. It
cost me my freedom. Before I had money, I had a lot of friends. I did
what I wanted on weekends and at night. I had fun.
After I had money, I started thinking I needed to make more money…
A LOT more money. I started buying things I couldn’t really afford. I
felt people wouldn’t like me if I didn’t have these things.
I started lending money out to friends and family in the hopes
of “helping” them. I thought people would like me if I “saved” them.
NOBODY will ever remember how you helped them. And you can’t
save anyone. This was my first lesson.
My second lesson is that I never really owned anything. When
I “owned” a house, I became a slave to the bank, slave to the
government, slave to upkeep of the house, slave to the other
people living in the house (my family, who I became afraid would be
homeless).
Third, I let money determine the people I associated with. Eventually,
I ended up with no friends or family. The people I truly loved at the
time, I lost. I still regret it.
I was afraid of consequences. I was afraid to lose “everything,” even
though I had already lost it.
Sadly, Altucher does not come to the conclusion that he needs to live for
Christ, instead, he concludes that he needs to forget others and live for
himself. As is so often the case with the world, he did not look for answers
from God and His Word, instead, he looked to his own wisdom which he will
eventually find disappointing, as well.
Rather than envying the rich and pursuing money, let us pursue Christ and
trust Him to, as the Apostle Paul put it, “supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
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