Holding on to money is harder than making money.
The money in your hand is slippery and very difficult to grasp. Have you ever experienced this phenomenon? Read the stories of lottery winners. Read the sad stories of ordinary people who suddenly get huge windfalls. The vast majority of lottery winners file for bankruptcy within a few years after receiving millions in cash. Millions… to nothing. In such little time.
Amazing.
How did this happen?
It is a principle taught by the greatest minds in history, and never better said than by the author of Ecclesiastes:
“When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to watch?” Ecclesiastes 5:11
If you win ten dollars, you will find something that costs ten dollars or more, almost instantly. Isn’t this true? If you win a hundred dollars, you will have to pay something that requires a hundred dollars or more. If you make five hundred…
And the same is true if you win $1,000, $10,000, or $1 million or more…at any amount.
No matter who you are or what your income is, any money you make will find a home, away from you. It is a fact of life. Keeping wealth in your possession is one of the hardest things to do.
I think there are a few reasons for this:
Money is more fun when it’s spent
We like to make money, but we also like to spend it. Why? Because it makes us feel a certain way. Spending gives us sensations that we enjoy. If we pay the bills with him, we feel secure and at peace. If we buy things with it, we feel fulfilled, elegant or cool. If we invest it, we feel smart.
Money is also desired by everyone else
Money in your pocket is NOT money in someone else’s pocket. if that someone wants your money (which it does, in case you were wondering), it will try to get it. He will sell you something, send you a bill, sue you, or possibly rob you. Everyone wants what is yours as much as you do.
Money is necessary for existence
You probably don’t have boxes full of cash in your garage, do you? How about pots and pans in the kitchen? No. You don’t, and neither do I. But we have stuff It’s worth a lot of cash in our garages and kitchens. Thousands. We keep other things there because those things are not necessary to live. Goal, the money IS NECESSARY. We have to have it to spend it, so losing it goes hand in hand with acquiring it.
What does all this mean for a person who wants to live wisely? Well, I think there are some principles taught in the scriptures that show us the correct perspective on money. If we see money correctly, its transitory nature will affect us less.
- Don’t love money. If you love money, losing it will rip your heart out. We are told to love God and to love people. But loving money creates many, many problems that are completely unnecessary. 1 Timothy 6:10
- Know the state of your finances. This is crucial to being a wise steward of what God has given you. Whether it’s his business or his personal bank account, getting to know him and taking care of him allows you to make good decisions with him. Proverbs 27:23
- Give away your money. Gift it wisely, wherever you see the need. It’s part of being a good steward. You do not believe me? Then I dare you to try it. There is an almost inexplicable mystery in giving away what you have a right to keep. If you give it away voluntarily, you undo the curse of trying to keep the money and losing it forever. Yes, I get that this defies explanation… BUT IT REALLY WORKS! Proverbs 22:9
The bottom line, when all has been said, is this: while money is a necessary part of our lives, our lives should never consist of making money. There is so much more to life! When money becomes an idol for us, creating it becomes painful, losing it even more painful, and it will never, ever satisfy us.
Only God really satisfies. Let’s hold on to that truth.