💸 Money Talks 💰

“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18-19 King James Version (KJV)

“And the seed sown among thorns represents those who hear the Word, 19 but they allow the cares of this life and the seduction of wealth and the desires for other things to crowd out and choke the Word so that it produces nothing.”
Mark 4:18-19 The Passion Translation (TPT)
 
Another destiny distraction that Jesus mentions is that of the deceitfulness or seduction of riches. Money talks. Money is the leading contender for your heart. If you lost your wallet and all your bank cards you’d probably worry a little. You’d be distracted, and rightly so! You’d wonder if it was stolen or just misplaced. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of money or a little money talks and the enemy is trying to get you to value money more than God. The reality is that you’re either following after money or following God – you cannot follow both! Jesus called it the deceitfulness or seduction of riches, which shows us that riches can mislead us and the spirit of riches (or mammon as Jesus called it) is trying to distract you and lure you into valuing wealth (something that is temporal) more than God and His kingdom (which are eternal). If we allow ourselves to make decisions according to finances and not according to the leading of the Lord we are going to be misled and deceived. For example, when you have to choose between two job offers, don’t just choose to take the job with more pay – pray about it first. Be led by the Lord, because He knows the future of that company and which job you should take. Or if you know God has called you to be in fulltime ministry but suddenly get a great job offer, stick with what God said. Many people will even try to explain how they can use the money for the ministry – but what did God say?

“”You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one and love the other, or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money at the same time.”
Matthew 6:24 Easy to Read Version (ERV)

 “How could you worship two gods at the same time? You will have to hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t worship the true God while enslaved to the god of money!”
Matthew 6:24 The Passion Translation (TPT)
 
Having money isn’t wrong! God wants you to prosper and have more than enough money so that you can live well, provide for your family and always be a blessing to others (3 John 2; 2 Corinthians 9:8,11). It’s not wrong to have money – but it is dangerous when money has you! When money is the aim and goal of your actions and decisions, it has you and you’re serving it. Money is simply a tool and should serve us and the mission we have.

How should we deal with this? How do we avoid allowing the lure and deceitfulness of riches to distract us from our destiny? Firstly, we need to have the correct view of money. Money is a tool for us to use and not something that should control us. Don’t allow money to have a hold on you! Secondly, we can keep money in its proper place by intentionally using our money as a tool to direct the interest of our hearts.

“Your heart will be where your treasure is.”
Matthew 6:21 ERV
 
Another way of saying this is that your heart will follow where you put your treasure. One of the simplest things that you can do to keep your heart focused on God and His kingdom is to invest (give) some money into it. If you don’t invest some of your money into the kingdom, then your heart won’t be there; but when you give, it helps to direct your heart towards the things of God.

For you to fulfil your destiny and be successful God has to be the one directing your heart – not money. If you’re upset because I’m talking about giving, it’s probably because you need to hear this more than anyone else. We spend a large part of our life making money, thinking about money and spending money, and wishing for more money. Giving helps to loosen the hold that finances can sometimes have on us – as you give away a portion of what you could use for your own needs, you are declaring that God is your source and you’re trusting in Him, and it gives you an opportunity to trust Him even more.
 
It is easy to get caught up in chasing after money and allowing money to dictate what decisions you make. Don’t allow money to lure you into following it. Money is not eternal and you can’t take it with you when you die. It is not the most important thing in this life. Choose to seek God, first.