October 5 I Monday

Isaiah 23-25

Philippians 1

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” —Matthew 6:21

Someone once said, “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t know where to shop.” Yet, John D. Rockefeller admitted, “I have made many millions but they have brought me no happiness.” And William Vanderbilt commented, “The care of 200 million dollars is too great a load for any brain or back to bear. It is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” There is a limitation to wealth and there are some things that money cannot do.

Accumulating wealth is an illusion if we approach it with the mentality of, “The more I have, the happier I will be and the more secure I will be.” It is an illusion because we will never be satisfied, as the more we have, the more we want. A wise person will have their desire for riches low on their scale of priorities. Proverbs 16:16 tells us, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” In the currency that really counts, wisdom and insight are more precious than gold or silver because money cannot buy these things.

Proverbs 11:4 says, “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath…” There will come a day when our physical resources will be totally worthless and that is the day we stand before God. In fact, “Those who trust in their riches will fall…” (Proverbs 11:28). And Proverbs 
23:4-5 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). The selfish accumulation of goods, for one’s own individual purpose and nothing more, is a temporary thing.

Jesus warns us that the treasure we accumulated is susceptible to loss. On the contrary, Jesus instructs, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). There is a currency that extends beyond this life and it is not money. By sharing the gospel, we can invest in things that matter and last for eternity—the glory of God.

How are we using our money? Are we storing it for a rainy day or are we giving it towards kingdom causes? As we reflect on our own personal wealth and spending, may we consider how to be wise with our money and invest in things that matter and last for eternity.

Prayer: Lord God, teach me how to be wise with my wealth and invest it in things that matter and last for eternity. Thank You, Lord.