Did you know…
- …that one of the strongest spiritual forces in the world is in your wallet?
- …that if Satan can get you to spend your money on the wrong things (or at least not invest it in the right things), you’re more than halfway to spiritual impotence?
- …that money is more than just money?
I didn’t.
There was flyer in the hallway of my dorm during the spring of my senior year with the simple question: “Do you even know what a 401(k) is? Should you?” My answers were simple, as well: “No, I have no idea what that is, and yes, I think I should.”
To call me an expert on any of the functions and/or aspects of money would be a serious fabrication. But one of the perks of a vocation for 8 years where I had to raise support was that I got to come up against a real spiritual battle (in my own heart and the hearts of others) over the subject of money. I learned what a 401(k) is, what a 403(b) is, and what it means to be a part of a 501(c)(3) organization (Those are all paragraph/line numbers in the same absurdly long document, FYI). But more importantly, I got a behind-the-scenes look at a real spiritual battle.
I got to see how desperately the enemy wants us to hoard, to store up treasure here on earth. Or, the enemy takes a different course and demonizes nice things, or new technology, breeding in believers a sense of pride over being more simple and therefore somehow more spiritually mature than others. I saw both of those tendencies in my own heart, and I am thankful for a vocation that plopped me in the stream, paddling the opposite direction (hey, how’s about you give me some of your money?), to highlight how great my need is for a savior when it comes to my approach toward money.
How about you? What are you thankful for about your current stage of life? Comment below.