And
I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that,
when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Luke 16:9
The
passage above is from the King James version where money was called
"mammon." Probably a good modern translation of the "mammon
of unrighteousness" would be the money of this world. Isn't it odd that
JESUS is telling us to
make friends with money? Not really. HE just
got done telling HIS disciples
that the people of HIS kingdom
are not very wise about it. Guess what? We still aren't! The
disclaimer is that we are not to seek after it, love it, or let it become our god!
Having said that, we are not to despise it, turn away from it or be fearful of it,
either. Agree? OK. How
can we make friends with money and not fall into traps? Easy. The
keyword here is "friend!" Friends don't despise, turn away from or
be fearful of one another, do they? So, if we will make friends with money,
we will not despise, turn away from or be fearful of it. And if it is our friend,
it will not despise, turn away from or be fearful of us, either! So
how do we make friends with money? Several ways. We will spend maybe a
few weeks on Friday learning about this. Here are some ways . . . Tithing Taking
care of family and friends Giving
to the poor Investing
in good ministry Paying
our bills Now
here is something that I have come to firmly believe. Like other negative
emotional issues we face, the concept we hold about money was probably established
when we were quite young. Our parents may have influenced us, either
directly or indirectly. In many cases, just like rejection, unforgiveness,
anger, etc., we must be set free in our thinking. So
now we have an exercise . . . Try for a moment to think back to your
first understanding about money. Maybe you were five or six. Maybe
there was some sort of trauma attached to it. That's it. Just take a
moment. Now
think if that experience has given you a shaded view all these years concerning
money. If so, you may begin to see what has shaped your present difficulty.
As with all other "stinking thinking" ask FATHER
to help straighten it out! Remember,
we are treading rough ground. Please do not get the idea that we are to
become $$$ focused. It is actually just the opposite. Many of us have
such poor financial practices that we must spend way too much time messing with
it. This is time better spent on the Kingdom. So dig in, look up, and
let's get it right! | 