We’re looking this week at how our views of money change as followers of Jesus.  Here are the words of Paul, one of the first Christian leaders, to his protégé, Timothy.

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  (1 Timothy 6:17-19 ESV)

A Christian author, NT Wright note that we give lip service to the maxim that “money can’t buy happiness” and then give life-service to the opposite.

We don’t need to prove it, we’ve all seen this kind of thing.

One example, when someone is quite wealthy, they might buy more homes.  But since they can’t be everywhere at once, they need to get security systems or guards, repair people, landscapers and more.

With more wealth comes the need for lawyers, accountants, investment advisors, and all the work and stress of coordinating them properly.

A friend owns a home by the lake, which is beautiful.  But the amazing view comes at a cost, as they are constantly replacing shingles after every windstorm.

Another example: Justin Bieber’s incredible success and wealth may also be his downfall.  He is able to try and buy happiness in cars, drugs, and surround himself with friends so dazzled by it all that they won’t try to stop him.  But we’ve seen recently, that it’s not working.  His wealth has turned into a trap, a snare.

Is Paul saying money is bad?  Or houses by the lake, or pop music?  No, but money is also not good, or happiness, in and of itself.

This is why Paul says carefully, the love of money is the root of many evils.

Money isn’t the good to be loved.  It represents the good, it’s just a piece of paper, metal or computer data used to exchange for actual goods and services.  The further our modern currency gets from the actual goods it was meant to represent, the closer it gets to an idol for worship in and of itself.  Money is a stand-in for actual goods, and becoming less and less grounded in reality since treasuries no longer actually have to have gold on hand for every dollar they print.

What are idols?  They were things like statues worshipped for rain, sun, fertitility, whatever people wanted to control.  They stand in for a real relationship with God who can’t be controlled.  They allow us to become ungrounded from reality, since we elevate ourselves to the status of controlling nature through our gods.

If we pursue money alone, we are pursuing something at the whim of the markets that is ultimately meaningless. We can see this as the Canadian dollar recently plugned below 90 cents US.  Manufacturers who signed contracts at $1.00, bought supplies at $0.95 and got paid at $0.90 have all seen just how subjective money can be when it’s unhinged from the actual goods it is meant to represent.

The risk is that we’ll pursue this kind of thing in life, and worship things in our lives whose value is constantly in flux, hardly eternal.  They may not be little statues anymore, but idols are very much objects of worship today.

That’s why Paul states the obvious truth: we brought nothing into this world, we cannot take anything out.  Despite that, we regularly treat money, possessions in life as if they are permanent and of eternal value.

Question: When have you seen someone’s love for money lead to evil?

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - January 15, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - Reset

We’ve been exploring the idea of a total reset in life – what Jesus described as being born again. It presents a number of challenges to us in our modern lives which are so complex and interconnected. What about our responsibilities, families, and so on? Jesus is not talking about a life replacement, but reset and renewal. A reset is different from formatting a computer. One is destructive and wasteful, the other is refreshing and freeing. We regularly talk about the world’s big story in these daily challenges. We were created to know God be known by God, to have God at the centre of lives. Then all humans rebelled against God, pushing him out of our lives. This was the beginning of sin, a separation between humans and God stemming from our desire to worship and rule ourselves, rather than reliance on God. Human history is filled with evidence of this separation from God. What was God to do? God could reformat, start over, and pretend it never happened. But instead, we got a reset moment. God stepped into this world as Jesus Christ, and pushed reset. He makes it possible for us to reset our lives, and has begun to reset the entire world – with a fresh start known as the kingdom of God. In our lives, we get a second chance to live in a close, personal relationship with God, when we start practicing the kingdom of God. Having tried the alternative, living to ourselves, now we can live under God’s care and guidance once again. Considering the rebellion against God in our past, God doesn’t say “forget about it”. He sees, remembers, and does something about it. The Kingdom of God is a reset world. Not the whole world yet – we just see signs and glimpses of it in people, and in God’s direct action today. We’re invited to start living into this now, and to become a glimpse of the kingdom of God in other people’s lives. But how? Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. We’ll see tomorrow what that means. Question: Where do you see signs of God’s “reset” world today?

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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