By Didi Bacon

I have a tendency to worry about money. If the bank account starts to go down, I get this tightness in my chest. My peace gets disturbed.

The reason for this, I figured out, is because I am afraid of not having enough money to pay the bills. I like to have a nest egg of cash to provide me security against future uncertainties.

But I have come to see that my money worries have nothing to do with money really. They have everything to do with trust.

In Hebrews 13:5, we find the following instruction:

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…”

That is a consistent theme of scripture. Don’t love money. Don’t be eaten up with the desire to have more and more money. Be content with what you have. What is strange is what comes next…

because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

That is a reference to Deuteronomy 31:6. Deuteronomy was Moses’ last address to the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. Moses was reiterating what God had communicated to the Israelites when he gave them the Law. Specifically, these were words of comfort to the people as they faced the scary prospect of going into a new land filled with dangerous and unpredictable challenges.

Why would the Hebrew writer reference this Deuteronomy passage when addressing the love of money and living in contentment?

We get a clue in the next verse. Hebrew 13:6 says,

So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”

There it is!

When it comes to the love of money’s dark-side worries, this is the heart of the issue: Who do you trust when facing the chaos of the future? Do you trust in cash, or do you trust in God?

The promise of Hebrews is that God is with his people. God is with you if you walk by faith in Jesus. God-with-us means that he walks by our side into the unpredictable future. He promises to be faithful as we live by faith in Him. Trusting in God then becomes the basis of how we operate with our money. We work to earn money to honor God. We budget to spend money to glorify God. We save money to honor God. We give money to honor God.

This was what Jesus was getting at when He said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:19-24 NIV

Money is a terrible master but a great servant. Walk with the Master and see how great a servant your money can be. It is something that I am giving myself to do too.