Daily
Devotional

A few years ago, a popular news outlet published a story about millionaires who lost everything they once had. One noteworthy anecdote in the article was about a stockbroker. This man was a high school dropout, but with a knack for predicting the stock market and some good luck, he climbed the Wall Street ladder until he owned his own firm and had earned millions. He bought race cars and race horses, a spacious mansion, and spent lots of time on the golf course. He said he loved the money and what it could buy, but greed soon became his downfall. A gold-mining deal fell through, and he lost three-quarters of his savings in less than a year’s time.  

The depression that followed caused him to consider suicide. But instead, he started looking for a solution and drove to a bookstore to find a volume on business strategy. Although he did not find the business book he was looking for, he did find a Bible. As a result, his life changed dramatically, and eventually he decided to found a firm which offers financial guidance based on Biblical principles and sound research. This firm is much more modest than his former investment firm regarding the promises it makes to clients, but he said he is ten times happier now than he was when he had his fortune.

Money is not the subject of today’s focus verse, as there is nothing evil about money itself. God knows money is required to buy what is needful in this life, and there is nothing evil about living. The love of money is where problems begin. That love is based upon how greatly we desire to have money and to what limits we will go in order to acquire it. In the case of the stockbroker, his great love for money was revealed by the fact that he felt he had nothing to live for once his wealth was gone. Yet he was not happy when he possessed his great fortune either! Had it not been for the grace of God, the love of money would have destroyed his life completely, whether or not he was rich.

The Apostle Paul explained what loving money can do to a person. He said it causes people to have foolish and hurtful lusts, and can even cause Christians to err from the faith, bringing many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:9-10). If money became our priority, might we begin to neglect God or our family in pursuit of it? Or consider doing ungodly things to obtain it? That is where the love of money becomes sinful.

Sometimes the love of money comes on slowly, so we must watch out for such tendencies. How can we do that? By staying close to God and never letting go of His Hand, and by keeping up our daily Bible reading and prayer. These steps will keep us in check, and the Holy Spirit will be faithful to let us know if we ever start to get off course. The verse after the focus verse says, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” God will help us have the right desires if we seek to be more like Him.