It’s All about Money: Beware 3 Signs of Being a Slave to Money

It cannot be denied: as long as we live, we all need money. To get clean water, we have to pay. When you are struggling to breathe, you have to pay for oxygen in order to stay alive. The same is true for housing, food, clothing, and other necessities. Money is considered so important that some people even have the slogan, “money can buy anything.” Or, “If you have money, happiness is within your grasp.”

However, be careful: when money begins to take control of your life, you may have become a slave to money. Is it really dangerous to love money more than God? How can you tell whether this is happening in your life?

Love of Money, the Root of All Evil

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. By chasing after money, some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. –1 Timothy 6:10

If we look closely, the Bible has long told us that the root of all evil is the love of money. Because of this one sin, parents and children can end up fighting in court; friends become enemies; crime and corruption happen everywhere. Money makes people selfish, regardless of religion, denying their faith, dishonoring their parents, becoming arrogant, and justifying any means.

Do the anxiety, envy, ambition, fear, or conflicts in your life lately have anything to do with money? If so, take a moment to reflect: is the source of all your problems your love of money?

Signs of a Slave to Money

1. It Decides What You Can or Cannot Do

When money starts controlling your life, you will find it hard to choose between pleasing God and pursuing money.

“No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and disregard the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.” – Matthew 6:24 

A common example: when it is time to worship, attend regular fellowship, or do quiet time, you are still not satisfied and keep working to achieve your dreams and ambitions, so you miss those opportunities for the sake of money.

Without realizing it, God is no longer the priority of your life for you. God’s place shifts farther and farther down the list, because money matters more to you than anything else. You follow what money tells you. If an activity brings profit, you say ‘yes.’ But if it brings no profit, you say ‘no.’

When you value money above everything else, you will become calculating when it comes to giving to God. It is entirely possible that you start weighing profit and loss and feel reluctant to give tithes or offerings to God.

When you begin to experience the signs above, be alert, perhaps you have become a slave to money. Remember that everything you have right now comes from God, so do not forget Him, who blesses you abundantly.

But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. – Deuteronomy 8:18

2. It Becomes the Measure of Your Happiness

When your work achievements are appreciated and you receive extra pay, you are exceedingly happy. But when you have given your best in your work yet receive no reward in the form of a raise, you are disappointed, complain, become sad, and grumble to everyone around you.

When your life is blessed, made easy, and provided for, you are willing to love and serve God. But when life does not feel easy and money is hard to come by, you no longer rejoice in living the Christian life. You are not eager to worship or have quiet time, and you do not want to serve. You are quick to blame others and often criticize this and that.

Although money can add to happiness, it is not the measure of happiness. Many people are very rich, yet their lives are not happy. And there are people who are not rich, yet they are happy. The key to happiness is to be content (content) in every circumstance.

Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For God has said: "I will never leave you; I will never forsake you." – Hebrews 13:5 

3. It Determines Who You Are

Think about this: when you wear classy clothes from a famous brand, does your confidence grow thicker? Or, when the number of digits in your savings account increases, does your sense of worth soar?

But what about when you cannot afford to hang out at cafes, go to a well-known salon for beauty treatments, or shop at the supermarket? Do you become insecure, feel worthless, and pity yourself?

If that is how you feel, perhaps you have placed your security and confidence in money. This is not the identity God created for you. God wants you to place your heart, mind, and sense of security in Him, not in what you have.

If God blesses you with more provision, it is not to elevate your social status, but so that you can help others who are in need even more.

“When God blesses you financially, don’t raise your standard of living, raise your standard of giving.” – Mark Batterson

“In everything I have shown you by example that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for He Himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.” – Acts 20:35

Money should not be what controls your life. Only God is worthy to control your life. So examine again how large a role money plays in your life. Is it so important that without realizing it you have become its slave?

The good news is that you can ask for God’s forgiveness and ask Him to return the focus of your heart to Him. Do not worry about your life. Work hard, do your best, and keep depending on and prioritizing God, and you will not be left in lack!

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:33  - Related Articles:

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