Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Prov. 23:5 (NIV)
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb. 13:5 (ESV)
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:21 (NLT)
Heavenly Father, it’s precisely because the Dow Jones Average has been setting records recently that I need to take these Scriptures to heart. All you have to do is give Wall Street a little “tap” and we’ll be reminded of how foolish it is to trust in anything or anyone but you. Eagle-like economies become startled Starlings, and take flight. Indeed, “riches deserve but a glance,” but Jesus must have our gaze.
No matter the financial season—a winter of discontent, a spring of lush “green,” a summer of scattered showers, or a fall of falling markets, teach us the way of contentment, Father. Intensify our love for Jesus so our love for money will shrink to a proper, healthy, gospel-size.
And whether we have a superabundance of wealth, or, quite literally, are praying for daily bread, free us to be generous with what you give us. Every good gift we have comes from above, period. You promise never to leave us or forsake us; and you promise to “enrich us in every way so that we can always be generous” (2 Cor. 9:11). We praise, bless, and adore you… for your perpetual faithfulness and outlandish generosity.
Father, may the gospel determine the price tags and value system of our hearts. May we treasure, seek, and enjoy a robust relationship with you… more than all the other stuff we tend to put our trust and hope in. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ exalted and trustworthy name.
