Jan 29 - Psalm 62:10

Don't try to get rich

by extortion or robbery.

And if your wealth increases,

don't make it the

center of your life.

Psalm 62:10

Money.

It's helpful, isn't it?

It pays the rent and buys the food. It defines, sometimes and in part, who we are. The neighborhood we live in, the car we drive, the styles we choose are often shaped by money.

Money is helpful. Necessary, almost. It shapes our lives. And that's where today's warning creeps in: "don't make [money] the center of your life."

Only one thing is supposed to define us ... our hearts. Our hearts were crafted in such a way that they always seek an object of worship and devotion. If it is God, our lives are attached to something eternal. Focusing on godly priorities, we are less selfish and less crass.

But if we don't center our hearts on God, we tend to center them in one or two other places: on people or things.

Focusing on people at least fulfills our relational needs. But people inevitably let us down. For example, we tend to center our human relationships around several pairings: our spouse, our kids, and our friends. But if we're counting on our kids for our relational satisfaction, our kids let us down by growing up and choosing a new center of their lives -- their own spouse. Our friends can let us down by maturing, changing, and moving; distance often evolves over time. Our spouse lets us down by not being perfect ... and then one day by dying. It's inevitable. And if we choose temporary people to be the center of our lives, we choose temporary happiness.

Others choose things to fill the hole in their hearts. A pretty house, a newer car, nice clothes, even exotic travel. There's nothing wrong with nice things ... until we need them to make us happy. Too many are possessed by their possessions. And the "robbery" we commit, as warned against in today's Psalm, is usually stealing from God. We don't give tithes and offerings on top because newer chrome on our newer car has become more important than God and kingdom.

Therefore one of scripture's most frequent admonishments is essentially what today's verse says: "don't make [money] the center of your life." It is a fickle task master, demanding more and more to keep you happy and drawing you further from the eternal. .

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't want

a "friend" who turns into a task master,

but a Father who turns into a friend