Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”*

^{_{{* Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6}}}

_{^{{** Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me. Psalm 118:6-7}}}
Hebrews 13:5-6 (emphasis added)

Money is a two-sided coin. Well, it probably has more sides than that, but I want to talk about two of them. The first is itself. Money. As a thing in and of itself. It’s nice to have. But rarely is it nice because money is nice. Money is nice because of what you can do with it. Money does just about anything. Get food, entertainment, clothes, homes, vehicles and sometimes it feels like it gives worth — who hasn’t felt like a nothing because your wallet couldn’t handle something others around you were getting? It is a great feeling to be able to be in a store and know you can get anything you want. It’s a great feeling to know you can go out if you want to. See a movie, get a meal, go do an activity, hang out with friends, or even stay home and order things in. It’s great. Everyone who can do it enjoys the feeling. But not everyone knows it. Some of us spend all the time thinking ‘I wish I could do that’.

The thing that can be hard to wrap our minds around is that money and everything to do with the monetary system is entirely arbitrary. It’s completely and totally made up. We made it. God didn’t institute money. Back before the Fall God talks about what we have and our position. He tells us what He has designated as food. But nothing about money. Go read the first three chapters of Genesis. Creation, humanity makes an appearance, and humanity chooses not God. Money isn’t mentioned once. It wasn’t needed before the Fall. And after, it was humanity who decided to slap arbitrary values on things. And we’ve advanced so far that we don’t even base our wealth on real things anymore. Currency is no longer backed by anything real (and yes, a return to that kind of system has many pros and cons). Even looking back at those systems, you have to remember that the solid, real things providing the dollar with value are in themselves arbitrary. Why is gold valuable? Because we say so. Jewels? Because we say so. Since money is an arbitrary item with infinite ways to be created, supplied, and used, the ways in which it can get into us are also infinite.

Money can be a powerful crutch. If you have it, you want to keep it. If you don’t, you want all the things it can get you. No matter which group you stand in, it is so easy to put your thoughts, desires, and faith in money. A lot of problems in life are solved with money. Money can open doors, fill cupboards, and provide security. We put trust in it. But money is like the universe: inanimate and uncaring. People talk about positive thinking manifestations, about putting it out there so the universe can bring it to you. You might as well speak to your wallet and ask it to do it. And it wouldn’t surprise me that people do. The bottom line is that money is a tool and tools aren’t loved. We might say we love a tool, but it just cheapens love. We like things. A lot. But you can’t love a thing. You can like anything intensely, but we can only love something with a soul.

The love of money isn’t a romantic relationship. It’s a perversion. It’s placing trust and faith in this inanimate thing to solve your problems, provide happiness, and make everything okay — now and in the future. Ebeneezer Scrooge was a lover of money. You get shackled to it. You HAVE to have it. It MUST be around or you have no peace, no happiness, no security, and no life. Everything becomes about acquiring it or valuing whatever faces you by cost. Your thoughts dwell on it (in fear or satisfaction) more than on anything else. You get so you don’t even notice. You might even get generous to showcase how you can afford it. You might be a lover who buys nothing but the best. You might be a lover who never buys unless it’s a deal. Either way, value — of yourself and life — is wrapped up in bills and coins. It can destroy relationships — physical, emotional, or spiritual.

That doesn’t mean you need to shun money. It is an arbitrary value. It isn’t a sin. Trusting it over God is a sin. It doesn’t mean you can’t have loads of it. It means don’t put your faith in it. Don’t plan your life around it. Put the Lord first, and all else follows. Do you want to have tons of money? Bucket loads? Be willing to give it all up at the drop of a hat any and every day. It should never be a thing that you must keep, because you can always get more. The true value of money for a believer is blessing others. Money is the least of the treasures of the Kingdom. It doesn’t have importance. There is a lot of it around, we can always get or make more (as a society), and so why worry about it or cling to it? Because we have a monetary society it is required to function. It holds the same value to the believer as clothes. You need clothes to walk around and function without getting in trouble. Same with money. We need it to get around and function without getting in trouble. But if you’d be willing to give it all away and start over without batting an eye, then it has no hold on you.

If it doesn’t have a hold on you, then it’s fine to have. Never keep anything that has a hold on you. It isn’t worth it. Sooner or later they will always interfere with our walk with the Lord. If we have Jesus, why do we need anything else? If we have Jesus, why do we need entertainment? Nothing wrong with it, just don’t let it cut into your walk with Jesus. Same as money. And the key is to be content. Sometimes that means that you get a thing and appease your desire because now you have it. You don’t need to lust after that TV because now you have it. But contentment means something else as well.

Contentment as a transitive verb can mean ‘to limit (oneself) in requirements, desires, or actions’. We can choose to be okay having less. We can choose to be okay with having abundance. And we’ll feel exactly the same about both. It won’t matter. Why? Because we have Jesus. Because Jesus can be our value and treasure and the desire of our heart. We can choose to be happy with the ‘things’ we have, no matter what they are. Things that do the job just fine. Contentment is seeing that big house you like and saying ‘That sure would be nice’ and going home to your house and liking it just as much. You clean it, take care of it, and like it. If you never get that bigger house, that’s okay. If you get it, that’s okay too. The only thing worth having and hanging onto like it is the most important thing in the world and you’d be lost beyond finding if it was gone is your relationship with Jesus. Nothing else matters. Nothing else has value. A million dollars, or a dollar seventy-five, it’s all the same. That isn’t denying the niceness of having things, but it is denying the power to affect you.

Jesus wants to bless you. He wants you prepared. He’ll tell you what you need to do. He’ll talk to you about anything that is bothering you. And you can be free from the love of money or of things. How? By the realisation that if He is with you, what does anything else matter? You need, He’ll provide. You like, He knows that and could very well give it to you. He does like giving good things. But not if it will trap you (James 4:3). Not if it will be a snare. Jesus wants you free. Free of sin and free of bondage. No matter where He finds it. Seek Jesus, and Jesus will seek you. Love Jesus, because Jesus loves you. We can be satisfied in God (Psalm 91). And we won’t feel any loss. Not a jot or a jingle. Jesus loves you. And He celebrates your freedom.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: John 15:1-13

The Father loved us before He told anyone about us. As soon as He told Jesus, Jesus loved us too. And what is the proof? He died for us. We give to those we love. We care for them. We fight for them. Any parent will tell you they would die for their child. There is nothing greater than giving your life for another. Soldiers do it because they love their country. Parents do it because they love their children. Jesus did it because He loves us. God decided on it, so that we could be saved from sin, before sin was even a thing, before we ever stepped wrong, because He loved us. The Lord loves us more than anything else. Accept it. Be loved. You’re worth loving.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.