Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. (Zephaniah 1:18)
Money is a dangerous possession as it gives a person the mirage that his or her life is together. If I have money, then that means I’m successful. If I have money, then I can go out and provide for my needs without relying on anyone else. If I have money, then I must have done something right in my life.
Sadly, money offers something that it can never actually deliver: true satisfaction in life.
Though money may make me temporarily happy and masks my problems for a period of time, it cannot offer me answers to life’s deepest issues. What do I do with my insecurities? How do I account for the fact that I feel lonely or empty or dissatisfied in life? Money promises to take away pain, but it never deals with the real problem.
I think that’s what led Zephaniah to say that neither silver nor gold will save a person before God. As much as money brings temporary pleasure, it still leaves us with a God-shaped hole in our souls that nothing other than God’s grace can fill up. No one is wealthy enough to earn God’s grace. When we stand before God, He will not examine how much is in our bank account nor how much we’ve given in His name. Rather, He will look to see if we have placed our trust in Jesus’ work on the cross.
Don’t be fooled buy money; it can buy a lot of things, but it can’t buy God’s love.
Lord, money is a great mirage that makes us believe that we are somehow good enough to deserve You and Your love and grace. Keep me from being so foolish as to believe such a lie. Let me rest alone in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Let my view of money be such that it is a tool for Your purposes. Let me be quick to give to others and slow to indulge myself.
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