Richard Halverson, the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, pointed out something that bothers a lot of people and excites a few. He said,
Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man's real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man's true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man's character and how he handles his money.
That is a good paraphrase of Matthew 6:21 where Jesus says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." In other words, what your money goes after is a signal of what your heart goes after. And Jesus cares more than anything about what your heart is going after.
What our hands do with our money shows what our hearts are doing with God. Or to get right at the heart of the matter: what we do with our money shows what we believe God is doing with us. What money is to us shows what God is to us. Jesus said, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). No, it consists in his relationship to God. "This is eternal life—true life —" Jesus said to his Father in heaven, "that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). What we do with our money shows where we believe life—and joy and love and hope and security and meaning and freedom—is found.
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