Perishable or Precious?

God or Money?  One is precious, and the other is perishable.  But which one is which?

Unfortunately, when it comes to Money, God has a lot of competition in the human heart.  Generations come and generations go, and the same sad, materialistic pattern emerges. Even one of Jesus’ closest friends, Judas, had it wrong.  Hadn’t Judas often heard Jesus speak about why God is precious and money is perishable?  And yet, in the end, Judas judged thirty silver coins to be his everything.  It was too late before he realized that in his right hand, he was grasping a golden lie.

Peter was there that night.  He didn’t want anyone else to make that same mistake, mixing up the value of God and Money.  The Holy Spirit inspired him to write,  “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

How can you tell what is more precious to you? If Money is more precious, you will make excuses why it’s ok to plan your existence around getting more and more of it.  If Money is more precious, you will grow in the areas of hoarding and flaunting, but never grow in being generous.  If Money is more precious, your mind is so preoccupied with your savings and your debts, you spend hardly any time thinking about God’s promises.

But if God is more precious to you, you will acknowledge that everything you have belongs to him and not you.  If God is more precious, you will find some satisfaction in having a savings account, but much greater joy in being generous. If God is more precious, your heart will naturally ponder how good Jesus has been to you.  You’ll be so pre-occupied with Jesus giving you his precious blood and plenty of money to cover all you need and more, you rarely worry about your savings and your debts.

God is precious.  Money is perishable.  Never get those two mixed up!

Prayer:  Lord, create in me a new heart.  Give me the courage to prioritize your Word as the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Help me to see things from your perspective: that money comes and goes, wealthy people rise and fall, but your holy, precious blood stands forever.  One is precious and the other is perishable.  So transform my mind to be so enthralled with your generosity to me, that it doesn’t even cross my mind to be worried or greedy.  Amen.