In the scriptures, God talks about money and possessions with great frequency - in fact it's mentioned more than 2000 times. Though this is interesting in itself, we have to ask the question, "why". Perhaps we can get a view into the answer by looking at one of the many places that money is mentioned - particularly the story Jesus told of the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-24.
18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
In this story we see a man who, in his own estimation, has done everything that the law had commanded him to do and as such, should deserve the eternal life that Jesus has been teaching about. However, we see that he is still lacking one thing. Even if he had outwardly obeyed each commandment, there were still other things that he loved more than he loved God. For this guy, it started with his wealth. When Jesus called him on it, we learn that "he became very sad". Why? Because Jesus went after the god of his heart - the thing that he trusted in for his identity, security, comfort, and worth more than he trusted the God of the universe.
Perhaps money and possessions are addressed so often in scripture because when we view it biblically it is a powerful means by which God's purposes are accomplished in our lives and in the lives of others. But when we view it selfishly, the process of gaining it, having it and spending it, personal wealth is a means by which we enable and feed our other idols. The pursuit of it can achieve for us success, recognition, and identity. It can buy for us comfort, approval, power, control, influence, security. It's easy to see how powerful money can be when it becomes an idol and fuels our idols.
Money doesn't lie. Money is a crystal clear window into the true heart of man - what we love and what we worship. We get a monthly reminder of its hooks into our hearts with each month's bills, paychecks, and bank statements. It's the indicator of our idols that always has numbers attached. This is why money is such a huge topic - because it's both a huge idol, and also a huge microscope that reveals what God wants to change about our lives.
He wants our hearts. Man cannot serve two masters. We either serve the one true God or we serve money, but not both. I don't know about you, but I want to inherit eternal life, and I don't want to be found still lacking the one thing. So ask God to show you the things that you love more than Him. Looking at money is a really good place to start.
