Trust In The LORD, Not In Money

The Hebrews writer concludes his lengthy letter by exhorting us to show love and keep God's commandments. In my previous blog I commented about his urging us to love strangers. Next he urges us to remember those in prison, honor our marriage partners and avoid the love of money, all important exhortations. I'll not comment about prisoners and marriage partners. I've written extensively about marriage at other times.http:/.  

The Hebrews writer urges us to avoid the love of money with a word we find elsewhere only in Paul's letter to Timothy The word is phil-arguros (love of money) with a negative attached. In speaking about what spiritual leaders are not to be like Paul says,

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer (bishop), he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. - 1Tim 3:1-3 ESV

To discourage all from loving money, the writer quotes the LORD.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" - Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV 

The words are apparently from Moses' final words to Israel when, at age 120, he gazed out at the promised land, knowing that Joshua, not he, was to lead them across the Jordan.

And he said to them, "I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not go over this Jordan.' The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the LORD has spoken. And the LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." - Deut 31:2-6 ESV 

These are indeed words we may apply to ourselves when tempted to worship money or fall into the temptation to believe that money is able to provide us with all we need in this life. Note that we are not told that money in itself is evil. It is, after all, nothing more and nothing less than an agreement between two parties to provide goods and/or services. So the paper in my billfold is called "legal tender for all debts, public and private" and is backed by the Federal Reserve of the United States of America and signed by the Treasurer and the Secretary of the Treasury of the same country. I hand over this piece of paper and the other party gives me what we agreed upon. The temptation is to believe that all of our wants and needs in this life can or could be cared for by such exchanges.

Note that Israel was about to enter the land of promise and take it by force under the leadership of Joshua. Those occupying the land would naturally oppose them, but Moses repeatedly pointed out that this land was rightly their's, given to them by the LORD. Those occupying it had no rights to it. It did not belong to them. So Israel was to take back what the LORD had given them centuries before.

This is the thinking of God's children to this day.

The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, - Psa 24:1 ESV

Since the LORD has adopted us and made us members of His family in baptism (Rom. 8:16), we have every reason to believe that He will always care for and provide for us, according to what He determines we need. This is the word of encouragement we always need. And in His Word we place our hope, not in money.