Don’t Chase Money: Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Don’t chase money or trust in it, instead keep your eyes on Jesus. Recognize that He is the source of your provision.
The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10
Don’t Obsess Over Money
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the LORD? Or lest I be poor, and steal, And take the name of my God in vain.
Provernbs 30: 8-9
In either/both of these examples, the person’s focus is on their money. In the first one, they love it, and in the verse before 1 Timothy 6:9, it talks about those desiring to be rich falling into a snare.
In the second example, Proverbs 30:8-9, we see that either extreme, too much or too little causes or tends to accompany too much focus on money.
Keep Your Focus on Jesus
Either way, we need to keep our focus on Jesus, not on money. We don’t need to chase after money or riches, because it’s a trap with many temptations. Instead, we need to keep our eyes on Him and follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
It All Belongs to Him, Be a Good Steward
God is the creator of everything. He owns it all. We get the privilege of managing what He chooses to entrust us with. We need to appreciate the opportunity and be good stewards of the resources that we are in charge of. These include our talents, our time, our money, our relationships, everything. We need to submit ourselves and all that we have fully to God for His purposes and His plan.
There is Freedom in Releasing it into His Hands
This is actually very liberating. As we follow the Holy Spirit and we truly TRUST God fully and we desire His will, we can lean on Him. We know that He is a good Father who loves us. He works all things together for the good of those that love Him. We can just relax in His will and trust Him to work out the details.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to Guide You in Life’s Decisions
What a relief to know that I don’t have to do it all on my own and nor should I. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in all of life’s decisions. He is the best at it and it is a whole lot more peaceful “when God is seated, at the conference table” (from a song by the Blind Boys of Alabama).
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
Don’t Seek Riches, Seek to Fulfill God’s Purpose for You and His Will for Your Life
Make sure that your decisions in life are guided by being in alignment with the will of God, as you sincerely pray, praise, and study His word for guidance. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you and be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Be careful not to choose things out of “selfish ambition or conceit” or out of a desire to build our riches while ignoring your purpose that God has for you. Don’t chase money, but instead follow Jesus.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17
