Mar 18 - Hebrews 13:5a

Keep your life free

from love of money,

and be content

with what you have

Hebrews 13:5a

^ESV

 

Our world is upside-down. 

 

Especially in the way we use money!

 

In the way in which our world is structured, we depend upon money. It pays for food, housing, and heat — the necessities. It also prioritizes and purchases our wants and desires. 

 

And it’s always been that way!

 

Read the scriptures — even as history. 3500 years ago, God was already offering advice — even commands — regarding our handling of wants, needs, spending, and money. 

 

Why? Because 3500 years ago, in the days of Moses, people were already upside-down in the ways in which they coveted, prioritized, and spent. 

 

3500 years later, we still are. 

 

Try this quiz ... There are five basic things we do with money. Let me list them alphabetically. We ...

 

__  __  __  __  Borrow

__  __  __  __  Give

__  __  __  __  Repay

__  __  __  __  Save

__  __  __  __  Spend

 

There are four sets of blanks in front of each of these words. 

 

·         In the first column of blanks, rank the order in which most people in our world use money today. (1 is people’s highest priority, 5 is the lowest priority.)

 

·         In the second column, rank how you prioritize the use of money. 

 

·         In the third column, rank the way your beloved uses money. 

 

·         In the final column, rank how you think God wants us to prioritize the use of money. 

 

Now ... what do you think is the way that our world tends to use money? Current statistics reveal that our culture tends to ...

 

Spend

Borrow

Repay

Save

Give

 

And what do you think God’s plan is for using money?

 

Give

Repay

Save

Spend

Borrow

 

Wait!

 

Read those two lists again. 

 

Compare those two lists. We’re just about totally upside-down, aren’t we?

 

In the next few days, we’ll talk about how to re-order and re-establish patterns that will sustain and bless our marriage through richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and throughout all that these sixty years may bring. 

 

But today, we end with a clear Biblical piece of advice: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have.”

 

Question: How do you really order your spending? What do you need to do to change the order to match God’s ideal?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s discovered

the joy of first-things-first