It has often been said, and rightly so, that Jesus spoke more about money than just about anything else. Because he recognised the huge spiritual issue that this is for all of us, and how closely our faith and our money are intertwined. And so this is an essential issue that a discipleship course on Living Faith simply has to address.
If inwardly there was a little groan when you heard that this week’s focus is on money, what might that be saying about your resistance to looking at this important area of your spiritual life? The good news is that the good news of Jesus about how our relationship with our money can be redeemed, really is good news. This is an area that can be such a massive source of anxiety, fear, paralysis and guilt in people’s lives, that when our money dealings are brought into God’s healing light, the freedom, trust, peace, and joy that can be found is truly miraculous. So embrace the invitation of this week’s focus, and allow God to deal graciously, but decisively, with this aspect of your life regardless of how much or how little money you may have.
There are many connections that can be drawn between money and spirituality. Here are a few, based on the helpful suggestions of Rev Vicki Curtiss:
- Money is a gift from God. Money becomes a servant rather than a master when we recognise that it comes as a gift from God, who intends money to be used freely as a tool for living and loving. When the giver is remembered, the gift can be used as intended.
- Money can easily become an idol. In our culture, money is honoured like a god, as if it can bring us happiness, security, power and worth. When money replaces God as the source of our security and worth, it will wield an oppressive power over us, and we will find ourselves enslaved by always wanting or trying to get more and more money.
- Money is an emotionally charged issue. Deep feelings may be stirred in us in connection to money, which are clues to areas in our lives that need to be brought before God: wounds that need healing, longings that need expression, blocks that need to be opened.
- Our use of money is an expression of ourselves. How we spend it, withhold it, give it, save it, receive it and think about it reveals a great deal about who we are and our deepest beliefs and values.
- Money determines many more choices than it should. Money is often the determining factor in many of the significant choices we make - like the work we do, the things we buy, where we live and how we get around. The question of affordability is often the only consideration given to these important choices, rather than what God might be saying to us or requiring of us.
- Money is a root cause of much injustice. People are commonly oppressed and exploited for money. The same is true of the earth. All of us, in one way or another, are complicit in systems of injustice that are driven by the pursuit of more money. Economic and environmental justice is central to a world of harmony and dignity for all, and to work for such justice is a significant expression of faith.
- God yearns to bring Shalom on earth. Shalom is that vision of wholeness and peace, where money plays its rightful part as God intended, so that the abundance of God’s provision and the fruits of the earth can be freely and fairly shared by all, in which everybody has enough and nobody has too much.
Questions for reflection:
- How would you describe the connection between money and spirituality in your life?
- Which of the points mentioned above (suggested by Rev Vicki Curtiss) were most challenging for you? What might that be saying to you?
Prayer:
Lord, it’s true. My relationship with money has huge significance for my faith, and my relationship with you. I’m so glad that you understand this, and that you graciously promise to help me in this regard. Thank you, Jesus, for the bold and challenging words that you spoke into this broken area of our human existence. Help me to hear those words, to trust that they are words of truth and life, and to find the courage and wisdom to put them into practice in my life. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment