Are We Addicted to Money?

Are We Addicted to Money?
Luke 16:10-13
Some years ago I attended a church management seminar. A part of the seminar focused upon stress- what can cause it, and how to manage it. The seminar leader handed out Biodots during the seminar. These look like small plastic circles and they are smaller than the end of your finger. When placed on the skin the changing color indicates the level of stress that a person is experiencing. Blue indicates that a person is very relaxed, and green indicates that a person is somewhat relaxed. Brown indicates somewhat stressed, and black indicates a person is very stressed. When I was in the seminar the colors of my Biodot were brown and green. While I drove home from the seminar, the colors were green and blue. When I arrived home and started balancing my checkbook, the color was black. This told me that although I was not aware of it, balancing my checkbook was a very stressful and emotional experience for me.

In his book Financial Meltdown in the Mainline? , Loren Mead asks the question: “Are we addicted to money?” This is a good question for us to ask ourselves from time to time. And it is helpful to remember that the question is not just a financial one, but also has to do with our quality of life, and the quality of our spiritual lives. Mead writes that an addict is someone who focuses their attention, emotion, and commitment upon that to which they are addicted. He lists several signs of addiction to money.

One of the signs of addiction to money is discomfort with the wealth that we have. There can be several things that we do or don’t do that indicate that we are uncomfortable with our wealth. For example, we may be slow to admit that we are rich. If we live in the United States, we have more than 90% of all other people in the world. And yet, we are more comfortable believing that we are poor, or at least, that we don’t have enough. Other indicators that we are uncomfortable with what we have are that we resist making wills, or we are unable to establish or keep a budget. These are basic tasks that are related to our financial lives. If we are uncomfortable doing them, then it probably means that we are uncomfortable with how much or how little that we think we have.

Another sign of our addition to money is our anxiety about money. We worry about making it to the next paycheck, even though we have made it for the last 5, 10, or 20 years. We answer the question “How much is enough?” with “Just a little bit more.” We wonder how we can make more money, or get more money. We spend time and energy working longer hours at work. We worry about the checkbook, the credit cards, and the mortgage. Let’s face it, it is important for us to manage our resources wisely, but there is the danger of becoming consumed with worry about money. It can keep us from being fully alive and living with joy.

Another sign of our addiction to money is that we are never satisfied. We want more money for ourselves and we are envious of other people’s money. It may be difficult for us to appreciate the wealth and success of other people. We may think that if someone else is wealthy or successful, that it takes something about from us. Money can be a source of tension and conflict at home, at work, at church, and in the community. We may be worried that there will never be enough.

Are we addicted to money? The answer is yes, most of us probably struggle with the addiction. And, if we see it as a spiritual issue, then our best response is to repent, or turn around. Instead of depending upon money and wealth to give us meaning and joy, we can turn and depend upon God and one another for meaning and joy in our lives. Instead of spending more time and energy to make more money, we can invest time in being servants to our families and our neighbors. It means that life is more than how much we make, or how much we have. It means that life is found in our relationships with God and one another.

Once there was a cartoon on the editorial page of the local paper. It was a cartoon strip with several frames. One man was talking and this is what he said: ”When the stock market dropped, I had a moment of understanding. I realized that my values had become skewed. I had been measuring my life in terms of material gain. I saw that all of that could be swept away in an instant. What I was going to have to do was restructure my life to seek and appreciate things of a deeper, spiritual nature. But then, luckily, the stock market went back up!”

When things are going well, it is more difficult to pay attention to spiritual issues. But a financial crisis can lead to a spiritual crisis. We may need to be reminded to turn from our reliance upon our wealth and ourselves, to reliance upon God. We may need to be reminded that we are not in control. That doesn’t mean that we don’t plan, budget, and use our money wisely. But it does mean that we don’t invest too much emotion, attention, and commitment to money. If we have can do that, then the next time we balance our checkbooks, or pay our bills, it may be that the Biodot will be green (somewhat relaxed), or maybe even blue (completely relaxed).

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Who, or what are we serving?