Jake Ridley, CFP®
Table of Contents
Worried About Money?
Do you close your eyes and say a little prayer when your grocery bill is totaled these days?
Or maybe the pain of completely filling your gas tank is just too much, so you fill it up halfway (raises hand)?
A quick scan of any news source highlights just how worried most are about money.
This means people are less optimistic about the economy and their personal finances than at any time in the last 70 years – Americans are worried!
Ok, Americans are worried but what about Christians? We don’t worry right?
Come on, we’re just as susceptible to worry as anyone.
Luckily, God knows His creation very well and has provided many stories in Scripture to help. Even more, He doesn’t just tell us that we shouldn’t worry about our money, He shows us why we don’t have to.
Let’s look at three Bible passages that help expound on why we need not fret over our physical needs.
Passage One: Genesis 2 - Creation and The Garden
From the beginning, God shows us that He is our provider. He not only provides, He provides in a very unique and special way.
Frequently lost in the typical debates on Genesis is one of the central points of the entire Bible: God’s unique love and care towards humankind.
Starting in Chapter Two of Genesis, the Bible zooms in on the creation of mankind:
The first thing to notice is the word “formed”. Interestingly, this word is frequently used when describing an artist’s work.
Then, God doesn’t stop there, He actually “breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils”.
These terms paint a vivid picture of intimacy and care, which screams at us to pay attention!
Humankind is the pinnacle of God’s creative powers, and the intimacy and care He has for them is reserved only for them.
So, after creating His masterpiece what is God’s first act? The first thing God does is provide for man.
He does this by placing him in a garden called Eden, which means “pleasure” or “delight.”
The point is this: From the very beginning, God has shown His care by providing for His creation.
What does this have to do with money and inflation in 2022?
When we are tempted to worry about money, try to think all the way back to God’s first act of provision for His creation.
He is for His creation, not against.
Luckily, there are many more examples of God’s loving provision to draw from if we’re struggling in times of worry.
Passage Two: Exodus 16 - Manna in the Wilderness
Fast forward into the next book of Exodus and we come upon the Israelites.
They were introduced as a people back about halfway through Genesis, were subsequently enslaved for four-hundred years by the Egyptians and have just been miraculously delivered.
This deliverance culminates in the parting of the Red Sea and the final defeat of Pharaoh. The Israelites are delivered explicitly by the God of their ancestors, communicating a unique and special love.
So, after this glorious deliverance from their God, what is their response?
They provide the first historical example of being hangry.
They not only complain about not having any food, they tell Moses they would have rather died by the hand of God than be delivered from the Egyptians.
The Israelites first response is to complain (a close cousin of worry). What about God?
He provides for them! He not only provides, but He provides enough food that “…each family had just what it needed” (Exodus 16:18).
This act of provision has a little bit of a twist compared to the first one in Genesis, though.
In this story, tension gets created because it appears that God may not come through. The Israelites hunger was real. Were they going to trust in their Deliverer? Or would they worry?
Unfortunately, they chose to doubt God’s goodness and resorted to worrying and complaining.
Before I cast stones at the Israelites, though, I’m quickly reminded of how quick I am to grumble and worry, especially when it comes to money.
Rather than the grumbling Israelites, I frequently pray to be more like David. When he volunteered to fight Goliath, all the other Israelites were amazed at his confidence. When asked why he was so confident he looks back to how God provided in the past:
Drawing from the countless ways God has provided for me in the past has been very effective at calming my present fears of money.
Passage Three: Matthew 6 - Jesus' Teaching on Worry
Surely 1,500 years after the Exodus and countless stories on God’s provision and faithfulness (including the two above), the lesson was learned, right?
Spoiler: The lesson was not learned.
Jesus comes into the picture around this time, and He is teaching in ways people had never heard. One of His most famous teachings occurs in Matthew 5-7, “The Sermon on the Mount”.
Much of Chapter Six is devoted to money, namely worry related to money:
For starters, the fact that Jesus came to His creation (Colossians 1:16) and chose to address this topic is a good hint that we need to hear it more than once.
I can attest that every time I read this verse, almost without exception, I have the “oh yeah – why do I keep forgetting this?” moment.
I need to constantly be reminded!
The verse that always sticks out to me is verse 32, “These things dominate the thoughts…”.
Money worries frequently dominate my thoughts.
What does Jesus provide as the antidote to worry? Faith!
Specifically, faith in who God is and his care for you and me, “…He will certainly care for you.” (v.30)
Remember all the way back to the beginning in Genesis 2?
God was showing us His true attitude and demeanor towards us. His first action was to care for man.
I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of this daily.
Closing Thoughts
Money worries are a real thing. It “dominates” most lists of ‘what do you worry about?’.
That’s precisely why there are so many stories reminding us the many ways in which God is for us.
In fact, the ultimate story of his goodness is the Gospel itself. The fundamental point of the Gospel is that God is for us, not against us.
Worrying about our bank account, the gas in our tank, or the clothes on our back, is forgetting who God is, namely the Source of our provision.
So, next time we feel our blood pressure climbing at the grocery store or gas pump, read Genesis 2, Exodus 16, Matthew 6, or one of the other countless stories of His goodness and generosity to remind ourselves of who God truly is.
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