Eyes On The Prize | Northstar Church

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless..” – Ecclesiastes 5:10

Life is complicated in 2014. So much so that the thought of simplifying your life may seem completely out of reach for you today. Life is busy, cluttered and complicated. There is family drama and debt, busyness and stress, and real pressure from everything from the job to the commute to the job. And then there are all the distractions that must be dealt with very day. “Simplify this life? Not gonna happen.”

It is easy for money to become a distraction. Just the making and management of money alone takes effort and focus. And as you work harder to make more money, you start to feel like money is becoming a subtle at first, then not so subtle master of your life. It is understandable. We think a lot about money in these hard economic times. However, if making money becomes the consuming focus, then our devotion to the dollar competes with our devotion to God. If a life is consumed by money, then very little is left over for the priorities that God has set for Christians.

There is a solution to money’s distraction. Paul dealt with this as he wrote: “But I am frightened, fearing that in some way you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to our Lord, just as Eve was deceived by Satan in the Garden of Eden.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, TLB).

As new Christians, we experience that euphoria of our first love and will not permit anything between us and our Lord. But time passes, our intensity and zeal cools, and we will be tempted to push Jesus to the side of our lives and pour our best time, energy, and even money into some distraction. We do not abandon the Lord; we simply don’t give Him the priority He once had in our lives.

Money’s distraction, or any distraction, is derailed by a love relationship with Jesus. When you love Him wholeheartedly, there is no room for money to distract.

“I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.” – 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NLT)

Questions:

1. Why do you suppose that Jesus talks about money so often in parables? Money is an attraction that can easily become a dangerous distraction. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us our hearts are going to follow our treasure. In verse 24 He says, “You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.”

2. Reflect for a few moments on whether money is a distraction for you? Pray for wisdom in those areas where money has become a distraction for you?

3. Take a few moments and recount for all God has given you. Thank Him for all the material blessings in your life such as a home, job, family and friends. But, also take a few minutes to thank Him in prayer for his mercy, grace, faithfulness, etc. in our lives.