Readings for today: Haggai 1-2
“Well, the God I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister.” - Bono
Why does God care about our money? Why does He care about how much we make and how much we give? Why does God care about what each individual does with his or her wealth? Why does God care what the nations do with their wealth? Surely He doesn’t need it. Surely our currency holds no value in His Kingdom where the streets are literally paved with gold. Surely gold, silver, coins, and cash are worthless in a place where there is no need or lack or want. So why does God talk so much about money throughout the Bible? Why does God say things like He does today in our reading from Haggai,
“‘I own the silver, I own the gold.’ Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.” (Haggai 2:8 MSG)
God cares about money because He cares about us. He cares about what money and wealth does to our hearts. He cares about what happens to us when we acquire too much, too quickly without having the spiritual maturity to handle it. He cares about us clinging to it. Trusting in it. Finding our safety and security in what we make or what we save or what we own. The love of money is one of the primary competitors to the love of God which is why the Bible calls it the “root of all kinds of evil.” The people in Haggai’s day delayed the rebuilding of the Temple because of a perceived lack of resources. God, however, knew better. Listen again to what He says, “A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.” Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?” And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again: “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much— a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.” That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.” (Haggai 1:2-7 MSG) The people in Haggai’s day had put the proverbial cart before the horse. They tried to provide for themselves rather than rely on God. They put their physical needs before their need to worship. They built fine homes and ate fine meals and drank fine wines while the work on the Temple languished. The problem was not a lack of resources but mixed up priorities.
We face the same struggle in our own day and time. The human heart hasn’t changed much over the years. We are still so easily tempted to fall in love with money. To place our trust in our own resources. To find our security in our wealth. This is especially true in a capitalistic society which prizes the pursuit of wealth and the accumulation of resources above just about everything else. Again, the issue isn’t money per se nor is it wealth per se, it’s what the accumulation of these things does to our hearts that puts us in grave spiritual danger. And this is why God is so quick to remind us that He owns it all. He owns all the silver and all the gold. He owns all the money and all the stock and all the bonds and all the banks on the earth. He is the one who holds all the resources of creation in His hands.
When we adopt this understanding, we are set free. Free to give generously and sacrificially of all we have to help those around us. Free to offer all we have in service to the Lord for the expansion of His Kingdom. Free to place our trust in the Lord for our provision rather than worry and fret over the state of our 401k. This is how God wants us to live and it is why He claims all things - including our money - as His own.
Readings for tomorrow: Zechariah 1-7