I don’t know about you, but I have seen this tug of war played out in my own life and in the lives of those I love. It’s so incredibly easy to put our trust in money, wealth, possessions, and financial security. It feels good to have money and be able to pay for the things we need. It feels empowering to see more and more digits in our bank statements. There is a sense of security in knowing that there is money ready for whatever we need.  

And being wise with your money is not wrong in the least. In fact, God calls us over and over again in the Bible to be wise with the money that He has entrusted to us. We are called to be generous and to be good stewards of our money. Saving, investing, giving, spending wisely, planning… these are all good and God-honoring things when done with the right heart and the right motivations. 

But it becomes a problem when our money shifts from being a tool in the hand of God, to the thing we put our trust in. When we take our eyes off God as our provider and start looking to our own efforts or our own bank accounts- that’s when money has now become our idol.  

But how do we know if we have fallen into the trap of the love of money? Well, ask yourself this: Do you get nervous when the bank account drops below a certain level? Does the size of your bank account directly affect your rest in Christ? If you were to lose it all today, would you still believe that Jesus is enough? Would you still trust Him fully to provide, day by day, what you and your family need to survive? If God called you to make half the income you currently do, (or maybe even less), would you obediently step out in faith, trusting God to provide, and willingly let go of the luxuries you once knew? 

Those questions, though rough and sometimes a little painful to ask, are really good signs of who or what sits on the throne of our contentment. If we are viewing our money as the source of our happiness, security, or delight, then we have it all wrong. But when God sits squarely on the throne of our life, we can trust Him to provide and worship Him when He does. We can look at financial hardships with just as much faith that God is good, and He will see us through. We can walk boldly into obedience even when it might mean less income because we know that God has us, and He will never forsake us.