What If You Had Everything?

What if you had all the money you ever needed? What if you had a ton of money in your bank account… enough to live for your full life on? What would your life be like? Would you feel absolute peace?

Sky and I live off of support money. We don’t know how much we will receive month to month. I’ve been living this way for almost eight years now and I’ve had to continually learn to trust more and more in the Lord. When my faith is strong, this lifestyle can be exciting because there is no limit to how much God can bless us. When my faith is weak, it can be stressful worrying if we will be able to continue to live they way we are living. I’ve found myself pondering from time to time what life would be like for us if we had all the money we ever needed just sitting in our bank account. I’ve wondered if that would give me more peace. The irony is, no, it wouldn’t.

In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus shares a parable about a rich man who built a huge barn for all his stored up wealth and felt he would live the rest of his life in peace. But that night God took his life and had him face the judgment seat. His riches weren’t able to give him the security he desired.

The truth is, with more wealth usually comes more anxiety, because then the stakes are higher and you have more you could potentially lose. If the stock market were to crash or if a medical problem were to arise or if some other unforeseen disaster were to happen, all that wealth could disappear in a moment.

What it comes down to is whether our trust is in God (faith) or is in the things of this world (idolatry). When I’ve pondered that question about what if I had all the money I needed I’ve felt God chide me a little and say, “You’re a son of God. If you really believe who you are in me then you truly do have anything and everything.” Philippians 4:19 is a promise: “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Here is a great message that goes deeper into this and reveals that one of the main causes for lukewarmness in faith is materialism (Revelation 3:15-18). I want to encourage you to take a listen: Stop Worshipping Your Stuff. It can also be downloaded on iTunes under New Philadelphia Church.

To be clear, I in no way believe money is evil or that possessions are dangerous, but I do believe trust in money is evil and love of possessions is very dangerous. We are stewards of what we have. We rejoice for the nice material things God has blessed us with, but we in no way need them to be happy. Our joy is in the Lord, and if we were to lose all those things or need to give them away, our joy would remain full. God is good. =)