« Stewardship Devotional
Day Four - True Security
Job 31:24 “I have not put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security’.”
Read
Luke 12:13-21
Apply
The rich fool thought that he could trust in his grain. Yet the grain outlasted his own life. He invested his wealth with something it could not give: security. It would always be there to make his life comfortable. But the things of this world are unstable, a pile of sand ready to collapse. God’s response to him is blunt: “You fool.”
“Having lots of money can be like a drug. It can make you feel powerful and giddy. It can convince you that everything is going to be okay.”1 We think that only if we accumulate more and more we will have enough. That day never comes-‘enough’ is never reached. When we trust our Lord we can stop hoarding wealth beyond our needs and become ‘rich toward God.’
The only true security comes from trusting in God’s care for his children. As Christians, we can be assured that God loves us because of Christ’s work on our behalf. Therefore, we can loosen our grip on our treasures. We see them as temporary and God’s kingdom as eternal.
- How much money do you want left when you die? Why?
- What does becoming ‘rich toward God’ look like? Does that reflect your own lifestyle? Why or why not?
Pray
Pray for a renewed heart that treats money as a mere thing, and treats God as the only true security.
Do
Look at your long-term goals: home, retirement, children. How much accumulation of wealth is required to meet those goals? What if your lifestyle was greatly simplified-how much less would you need? Would you give away the difference?
1 “Money and the Meaning of Life: and interview with Jacob Needleman”, Michael Malone. Fast Company, June/July 1997.
Copyright 1997. Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City