🕊️ PRAY HERE Devotion 🕊️ Is Money Your God?

Scripture: Matthew 19:23–24 KJV

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Devotion :

Money can buy a LOT of things.

It can buy houses.

Cars.

Designer clothes.

Vacations.

Status.

Popularity.

Access.

Influence.

And unfortunately, sometimes it can even buy people.

Whewww! 😮‍💨

Have you ever seen somebody who had so much money that they seemed to believe normal rules didn’t apply to them?

They get in trouble and immediately think, “I’ll pay somebody to handle it.”

They want access to certain circles, so they make the right donation.

They want people around them, so they constantly pay for everything, and suddenly everybody is their “friend.”

They mistreat people but believe their wealth, position, or influence will keep everybody quiet.

Money has gotten them out of so many situations that eventually they begin believing:

“My money can get me out of anything.”

But there is one problem.

Money cannot save your soul.

WHEWWWW! 🤯

Money cannot buy your salvation.

Money cannot purchase forgiveness of sin.

Money cannot buy the Holy Ghost.

Money cannot purchase your way into Heaven.

And when your life on this earth is over, there is no amount of money you can offer God in exchange for eternal life.

The Bible does say, “money answereth all things” in Ecclesiastes 10:19, but it does NOT say money saves all things.

There’s a difference!

Money is useful.

Money is necessary for many things in this world.

But money makes a terrible god.

Let’s look at today’s text.

Right before Jesus made this statement about the rich man, He had an encounter with a wealthy young ruler.

And this young man sounds like a lot of highly respected people we might encounter today.

He had wealth.

He had status.

He was a ruler.

And according to his own assessment, he was a pretty good man.

He asked Jesus what good thing he needed to do to have eternal life.

Jesus talked to him about the commandments, and this young man basically responded:

I’ve done all of that.

👀

In his mind, he was doing pretty good!

He had morality.

He had money.

He had status.

He had religious knowledge.

But Jesus knew there was something occupying a place in this man’s heart that belonged to God.

His possessions.

So Jesus touched the thing he loved most.

He told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him.

And suddenly this man’s confidence disappeared.

The Bible says he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

Whewwww! 😮‍💨

Think about what just happened.

This man came asking about eternal life.

Jesus told him what stood between him and fully following Him.

And when faced with the decision…

the man walked away from Jesus instead of walking away from his possessions.

🤯

His money meant that much to him.

He basically chose his riches over what he claimed he came looking for.

Eternal life.

Now we arrive at today’s Scripture.

Jesus tells His disciples:

“That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Then He makes the famous comparison about a camel going through the eye of a needle.

And this Scripture has been misunderstood by many people.

Jesus was NOT teaching that simply possessing wealth automatically sends somebody to hell.

Being rich is not a sin.

There were wealthy people in Scripture who loved and honored God.

The problem is not having money.

The problem is money having YOU.

WHEWWWW! 🙌🏽

There is a HUGE difference.

You can have millions of dollars and still recognize:

“Everything I have belongs to God.”

And somebody else can have $200 and worship every dollar of it.

So this isn’t only a devotion for wealthy people.

All of us need to check our hearts.

Because you don’t have to be rich for money to become your god.

If you will compromise your relationship with God to make more money…

Check your heart.

If God tells you to give and you absolutely refuse because money has too tight of a grip on you…

Check your heart.

If your entire identity is connected to what you own, what you wear, where you live, what you drive, and how much you make…

Check your heart.

If losing money would make you feel like you’ve lost your entire worth as a person…

Check your heart.

If you will lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, neglect your family, mistreat people, or abandon your convictions for money…

MONEY MAY HAVE BECOME YOUR GOD.

Whewwww!

And here’s another one.

If you have plenty of time to pursue money but never have time for God…

Check your priorities. 👀

There is nothing wrong with working hard.

There is nothing wrong with wanting financial stability.

There is nothing wrong with building wealth.

There is nothing wrong with owning a beautiful home, driving a nice car, enjoying a vacation, or being successful.

But none of those things can sit on the throne of your heart.

That seat belongs to GOD.

Money should be a resource you manage, not a master you serve.

Jesus was exposing something in this young ruler that the young ruler couldn’t see in himself.

He thought he had kept all the commandments.

He thought he was doing everything right.

Then Jesus touched his money…

And his real loyalty was revealed.

My, my, my!

Sometimes you don’t know how attached you are to something until God asks you to release it.

That’s when we find out:

Do I own this, or does this own me?

And don’t miss what Jesus was offering this man.

He wasn’t merely telling him what to give up.

Jesus said:

“Follow me.”

Whewwwww! 🙌🏽

He was being offered something money could NEVER purchase:

JESUS.

But he couldn’t release what was temporary to receive what was eternal.

Don’t make that mistake.

You can leave this world with a huge bank account and still leave spiritually bankrupt.

You can have your name on buildings and not have your name where it matters eternally.

You can gain the respect of everybody around you and still never surrender your heart to Jesus.

You can spend your entire life getting rich…

and discover that the one thing you desperately need cannot be bought.

So ask yourself today:

Is money my God?

If God asked me to choose between obedience and money, which one would win?

If following Jesus cost me something financially, would I still follow Him?

Do I thank God for what I have, or secretly believe I accomplished everything by myself?

Am I using what God has blessed me with to do good…

Or am I using it mainly to glorify myself?

Whewwww! 😮‍💨

Don’t misunderstand today’s message.

You don’t have to become poor to prove that you love Jesus.

But you do have to make sure that if everything else disappeared…

Jesus would still be enough.

Money can be replaced.

Possessions can be replaced.

Jobs can be replaced.

Houses can be replaced.

Cars can be replaced.

But don’t trade your soul for ANY of them.

Let money stay where it belongs:

In your hand; not on the throne of your heart.

And let Jesus be exactly who He is supposed to be:

LORD. 🙌🏽

Reflect & Respond

Be honest with yourself today:

What would be hardest for me to give up if God asked me to?

Your answer may reveal something about what has your heart.

Ask God to show you whether money, possessions, success, status, or financial security has begun occupying a place that belongs to Him.

And remember:

Having money isn’t the problem.

The question is…

Does money have YOU?

Prayer :

Father God, search my heart today.

Show me if money, possessions, success, status, or anything else has taken a place in my life that belongs only to You.

Thank You for every financial blessing and every resource You have placed in my hands. Help me to enjoy Your blessings without worshipping them.

Lord, deliver me from greed, selfishness, materialism, pride, and the love of money.

Help me never measure my worth by what I own or how much money I have.

If You bless me with much, keep me humble.

If I experience a season with little, keep me faithful.

Teach me to be a good steward and to use what You give me in ways that honor You and bless others.

Most importantly, I confess that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

Money cannot save me.

Status cannot save me.

Good works cannot save me.

Possessions cannot save me.

I need Jesus.

Keep my heart surrendered to You so that nothing You have given me ever becomes more important than the One who gave it.

I want You above everything else.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 🙏🏽💙