Money is Not Evil!

There was a time I felt that money was evil and that giving it up was a way to show God how much you loved or believed Him. I have seen people go through some of the weirdest motions of self-sacrifice to prove God in their lives. It is really quite simple. It is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil and it is not hard to recognize when you are in that mode of thinking.

When the love of wealth transforms money into an idol that comes before God things get murky and dark. Compromising on what is right goes hand in hand with this. Just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you have the love of it, sometimes not having enough makes you love it and put it before anything else.

Overly obsessing about the budget also is not a glory to God (been there, done that) either. Budgeting should be a grand experience in seeing God's work in your life. If you go at it with thankfulness, it will bless you immensely. Too often that thankfulness comes in retrospect when we get to see what God has done for us. Things take time, but God's presence in our lives is always there when the air we breathe is thankfulness.

Prosperity is individual. One man's prosperity is another man's poverty. We are all different, so when we look at something another has we are doing ourselves a disservice. God supplies all our needs, yet every man has different needs.

Thankfulness is a big filter to keep stain, strain, drain and pain out of our lives.

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. Titus 1:15

Once we lose thankfulness, things become tainted and everything seems negative, suspicious, and stark. On the other hand focusing on thankfulness generates power, love and sound thinking because God is allowed to go to work.

Philippians 4:6-8 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.