Tag: wealth

Wealth That’s Worth It

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(Matthew 13:44-52)

What if the answer to the question is “Yes”? What would change? Would your mindset shift, would you reassess your job or career, or would you start paying much closer attention to your retirement plan if the answer to the question, “Can money buy happiness?” is yes? Well, there seems to be more than enough evidence from recent surveys and studies that have led scientists to conclude that money can buy happiness (Google “Can money buy happiness?” and choose from countless hits for a point of reference).

But, it might be wise to look a little bit more into the findings that show a correlation between money and happiness. Because, while it would be hard to deny a relationship between money and happiness, what isn’t really covered in all of the studies is the degree of happiness. In other words, how much happier does money make us, and how much money does one have to make to reach the next level of happiness? 

So if one million dollars increase my level of happiness by the equivalent of, say, simply watching an entertaining movie, is pursuing that one million dollars worth it, or could I find the same level of happiness just by watching the movie? Moreover, does it take a second million dollars for my happiness to jump to the next level? Is that worth it? What studies comparing money and happiness can’t really answer for us is how much happier and whether or not the effort related to that financial increase could simply be spent pursuing happiness in other areas.

After all, isn’t the state of happiness a pretty relative term? Haven’t we heard the stories of children in third-world countries who have only one or two changes of clothes, scraps for food, and yet are happy to be able to kick around a soccer ball all day? Haven’t we heard of the financial planner with clients who purchase two or three of everything presuming that more of something will increase happiness? So discovering that money buys happiness is only part of the equation – we need to determine what defines our happiness. 

Doesn’t it actually make more sense to align your happiness with what you value? So, if retail therapy makes me happy, then yes, more money would allow you to buy more stuff. But what if solid relationships make me happiest? Can you buy those? If getting lost in a book brings me happiness, I can spend nothing at the library to get another one. If good health makes me happy, it doesn’t have to cost anything to get outside or follow a workout video inside. If happiness is a relative term, let’s stop asking how much money it takes to buy happiness and instead focus on the source of our happiness.

In the verses this morning, two individuals appeared pretty happy. A man found a treasure hidden in a field and another man in search of pearls found one of great value. What did they do? The one stumbling upon the treasure “in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (v.44), while the merchant “sold everything he had and bought [the pearl]” (v.45). These decisions were not just based on wise financial planning – joy was involved. They joyfully leveraged their net worth to secure the treasure and pearl.

However, when we remember that Jesus’ parables carry with them a deeper spiritual significance, we can’t miss the obvious point of comparison. To what did Jesus compare the hidden treasure and the pearl? The kingdom of heaven. And what, exactly, did he mean by that phrase? 

While there is certainly much more that can be said to explain Jesus’ use of the phrase, “kingdom of heaven,” to keep it relatively simple, let’s consider it to refer to everything that is included in believing in and belonging to Jesus. So the kingdom of heaven cannot be experienced or understood apart from faith in Jesus and the good news of his work of salvation. Along with that are included all the blessings that flow into our lives both now and into eternity. 

So it has been said that the kingdom of heaven is both now and not yet. It includes the present and the future. Current membership in the kingdom of heaven is made up of those in both the church militant (this side of heaven) and the church triumphant (those saints already in heaven). And all of this kingdom is accessed through only one narrow door: Jesus Christ and his atoning work. 

So if the kingdom of heaven includes all the goodness of believing in and belonging to Jesus, now we know the point of comparison in his parables. We better understand what is represented by the hidden treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. They symbolize believing in and belonging to Jesus. And how valuable is that?

It’s worth everything. Literally. Each of the men in the parables immediately liquidated all of their assets – everything they had – for the sake of believing in and belonging to Jesus. Possessions were posted on Offer Up, Ebay, and FB Marketplace. Stocks, sold. Checking and savings accounts, emptied. Retirement plan, cashed out. Anything of temporal value was traded in for something with eternal value. 

How much would you be willing to sacrifice for such a treasure? What would you give up? What would you go without? Which possession(s) would you be willing to permanently part with for something you determined was worth it?

We might consider that to be too great a sacrifice, but the idea of making a sacrifice wasn’t at all the perception of either individual in the parable. They didn’t view it as having to give up anything or make some huge sacrifice at all. Rather, they didn’t miss a beat in trading up. They saw it as an upgrade. In their minds, they were not giving up something, but gaining something greater. They weren’t going without, but were getting ahead. 

Since this is just a parable of Jesus, we might wonder what it looks like in real life. Practically speaking, what does it look like to place such a high value on the kingdom of heaven, on believing in and belonging to Jesus? We look no further than the apostle Paul, who seemed to be describing in real life what it was like for this parable to play out. In his letter to the Philippians he wrote, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). 

Doesn’t that sound like the merchant? Doesn’t that sound like the man who stumbled on the hidden treasure? Doesn’t that sound like… you?

Paul considered all earthly worth as worthless compared to Christ. The men in the parable traded in all they had for the kingdom of heaven. And the thought didn’t even cross their minds that they were making a sacrifice or giving something up, but only that what they stood to gain was so easily and obviously worth it. They would give up everything for it.

What is it worth to us? What would we give up for the kingdom of heaven? Everything? Anything? 

Do you know the treasure you have inside this kingdom of heaven that is yours right now? Do you know the value of believing in and belonging to Jesus? What we have is like the hidden treasures inside Fabergé eggs. As impressive as the intricate details on the ornate exterior of the eggs are, that’s just the beginning. In one particular egg, when a spring is touched, the egg opens up to reveal a golden yolk. Inside that yolk is a chicken. When the wing of the chicken is pressed, it opens up to show a gold crown, bedazzled with gems. Yet that isn’t all! One more spring can be triggered to reveal a hidden diamond ring in the center.

So it is in the kingdom of heaven. Only there is no limit to the treasures that can be discovered by believing in and belonging to Jesus. The riches of the kingdom of heaven are yours. The blessings of believing in and belonging to Jesus are yours.

Will you leave these treasures untapped? Will you leave the treasures hidden? Will you brush off blessings and jettison the joy and forget about forgiveness take a pass on the peace and purpose? Will you forego the chance to build up his kingdom and extend its reach and maximize gospel ministry and be a force for good in the world and make a difference in your community and love your neighbor and care for the overlooked and so on and so forth? Will you consider everything you’re willing to give up for the kingdom of heaven, only to realize you’re not giving up anything, but gaining everything? 

Will you find that happiness is right where you are right now, believing in and belonging to Jesus, and passionately helping others to find that same happiness? Do you realize that as one in the kingdom of heaven, right now you have a wealth that’s truly worth it, for you believe in and belong to Jesus? Nothing will ever be more valuable than that.

Serve God WITH Money, But Not God AND Money

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(Ecclesiastes 5:10-20)

The ability to multitask is no longer regarded as highly as it once was. For a time, it was viewed as an essential key to productivity and getting things done. It was thought that being able to focus on multiple things at once would mean everything on the to-do list could be achieved in less time. While in some situations that may have been – and may still be – true, it turns out those things were not being done as well as when we simply focus on one thing at a time.

Have you ever been trying to email or text someone while at the same time holding a conversation with someone else, and you end up writing in your message the totally unrelated words that just came out of your mouth in conversation? Dads are notorious for being poor multitaskers. I remember getting a T-shirt as a new dad that showed a dad changing a diaper while his head was turned toward the TV to tune into the game. On the changing table was not the baby, but the family dog whose diaper he was changing. Meanwhile, the baby was on the floor eating out of the dog food bowl. The shirt wasn’t that far off!

Today’s hard truth takes our inability to multitask well a step further and calls it impossible in one specific area: focusing on both God and money. And the hard truth is not simply that it’s difficult to do both, but that it’s impossible! We cannot serve both God and money. But… we can serve God with money.

Pay attention to who is the author of Ecclesiastes. Not only is the author one of the wisest men to have ever lived, but he was also one of the wealthiest. It would be quite easy to dismiss these words of caution if they came from someone who never had any serious income to manage or someone who was a bankrupt fool, for what would he know? Let’s learn instead from Solomon, from someone who had a little wisdom… and see that even wisdom doesn’t inherently protect one against the allure and temptation of money and wealth.

Solomon warns us, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless” (v.10). Solomon isn’t blasting money here. Money is not the bad guy. Rather, loving money is the issue. Allowing our hearts to become attached to it is the problem. Paul echoed Solomon’s warning in his letter to Timothy when he wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). Money isn’t evil; it isn’t even the root of evil, but rather the love of money is. 

There’s a reason we are so easily deceived by money. We can easily convince ourselves that we don’t love money per se, while all along truly loving what money represents to us: security, status, and stuff. In our own minds, each of those things is different from money, but in reality, they are directly tied to money. When we say we worry about finances, what we are often expressing is that we lack the feeling of security, of knowing that we are financially secure.

When we strive for status, what we mean is that we have arrived at the ability to buy things and pay for experiences and give our children opportunities that money allows. We say we don’t love money, but we love what money buys us: more stuff that we didn’t even know we needed until we saw someone else with it.

No, a person isn’t going to walk into our homes to find us bowing down to a pile of cash and credit cards. Rather, it is all of the opportunities that pile of cash offers us that we often worship. But you can’t have one without the other. To have all of those things – security, status, or stuff – we need money.

Or do we? Actually, if God’s promises are true, then hasn’t he already assured me that I have all of those things in Jesus? Jesus reminds us that if God takes care of the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees, he’ll also take care of us. That’s real security. God tells us we are his chosen people, treasured, dearly loved, set apart, and so on and so forth. That’s real status that matters. God tells us that we’ve got more than enough stored up in heaven, where moth and rust cannot touch it. That’s real stuff that matters. Money and wealth can’t promise those things, but only the illusion of them. What God promises and provides is real. Tangible. Trustworthy. What God promises is real treasure.  

Look again at Solomon’s words and you’ll notice the way these verses break down. Verses 10-17 are generally negative. However, lest we become embittered toward the wealthy or write off the rich as all having empty, meaningless lives, let’s remember that these words of Ecclesiastes, like many of Solomon’s Proverbs, are not unyielding principles that are 100% the case 100% of the time. No, these are general truths, which means that of course there are always exceptions.

So don’t be surprised when the multi-millionaire you feel sorry for over how miserable and meaningless his life must be, drives away excitedly to his beach house in his Bentley. We should not assume that Solomon’s words here are a blanket statement that every rich person is actually internally distressed and downcast. That would be silly!

Rather, Solomon is warning against the danger of what Augustine called a disordered love. That is to say, the issue isn’t necessarily loving the wrong things, but loving the right things in the wrong order. When we love possessions more than the Provider, we become enslaved to them and driven to seek in them fulfillment and satisfaction that only the Father can provide.

What does that kind of satisfaction look like? Verses 18-20, which carry a much more positive tone, show us. But look closer and see what else is different. Where is God in the first section? Not even mentioned. Where is God in the second? He is the Giver. Let that connection sink in for you, as understanding it is essential to a right relationship not only with money and wealth, but also with everything we can own or experience. Love possessions more than the Provider and we lose out on a right relationship with both the goods and with God. But love the Provider of the possessions and we get a right relationship with both God and the goods. Which would you prefer?

Solomon highlights this truth by reminding us that God is not only the giver of every gift, but also the One who gives the gift of being able to enjoy those gifts! Consider this in light of what the world emphasizes. What makes news are box office-breaking revenues for money, celebrities making huge sums of money per movie, or athletes signing the highest-paid contracts. But why are we so enamored with the amount? Wouldn’t it be much more telling if we could somehow gauge the level of enjoyment that wealth represents? Couldn’t an athlete live as much a satisfied and joy-filled life making half-a-million a year as making $40 million a year? Does more money correlate with more joy or can the two be completely unrelated? 

That seems to be the point Solomon is making. He has seen miserable, malcontent millionaires and he’s seen paupers at peace. What accounts for the difference? “Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God” (v.19). God gives the gifts… and even the gift of being able to enjoy the gifts. 

Isn’t this true in the grandest sense as well? We could list God’s gifts all day and all week long, but there is one that surpasses them all: the gift of his Son. This is the highest gift. There is no contract or business deal that can have enough dollar signs or zeroes attached to it that can ever surpass this gift.

Do we treasure this gift enough? Do we treasure Jesus daily and realize what we have in him? Do I find joy in the gift of his perfect life in my place? Do I find joy in the payment his death provided for my sins? Do I find joy in my victory through his resurrection? This is the greatest gift we have – and likely also the most under-appreciated. When it comes to the dangers of our love of money, Solomon can diagnose the problem, but he can’t deliver us from it. Only Jesus can do that. Only Jesus has done that. 

The theme of Ecclesiastes is “Meaningless.” The question we have is, how do we ensure our lives are meaningful and not meaningless? We can’t serve God and money, but we can serve God with money. 

A peasant farmer had worked hard for his crop, and in his hand, he held what he had just rigorously yanked out of the earth: the most beautiful carrot he had ever grown. It was the perfect carrot, and he knew immediately what he was going to do with it. He was going to give it to the king. As he marveled at the carrot he held in his hand, he was overwhelmed with gratitude, knowing that, were it not for his king, he would never have been able to grow a thing.

The king provided him with the equipment he needed to plant his field, he made sure that his family was provided for so that he could focus on farming, and he knew that under the king’s protection, he didn’t have to worry about his home or field being overtaken by an enemy. So he paid a visit to the king and gave him the prized carrot as an expression of his thanks. Touched by his gift, the king granted him several additional fields to grow even more produce.  

The news had spread around the kingdom, prompting a stable owner to consider following in the farmer’s footsteps and giving the king one of his prized stallions he had bred. The stable owner thought to himself, “If the king granted the farmer additional fields to grow more crops, perhaps he will also give me additional stables so that I can breed even more horses.”

So he set out to do just that and brought one of his horses as a gift for the king. The king accepted the gift and expressed his thanks to the stable owner for it and then dismissed him. Somewhat surprised, the stable owner appealed to the news of the king’s previous generosity to the farmer in granting him additional fields to farm and wondered if he might expect something similar. To that, the king replied, “The farmer brought me his gift and gave it to me as an expression of appreciation and love for me. You, on the other hand, brought your gift out of love for yourself.”

Christ has freed us from an unhealthy relationship with money. With a love for us that surpasses our love for money, he has forgiven our greed and satisfies us with his grace in a way that wealth never will. The evidence of that is seen in the change of perspective we have about money. The joy that we used to find in making and spending money, we now find in serving Christ’s kingdom with it. We see dollar signs as seeds that can help spread the gospel, counsel the spiritually struggling, help train up children, and serve those in need. It is an endless list of joys that spring from managing God’s money for God’s purposes. As God’s grace changes our view of, and relationship with, money, he will bless our efforts at growing in the grace of giving and serving not God and money, but serving God with money.