The Love of Money

06/03/22 • 25 min

Mark 4:19 says, The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Jesus’ warning in the Parable of the Sower teaches that the love of money makes us useless to the Kingdom of God. We’ll talk about how to avoid that today on MoneyWise. FINANCIAL LESSONS IN PARABLES Jesus talked about money second only to the Kingdom of God. So it’s not surprising that the subject of money and possessions is so prevalent in His Parables. Not everyone agrees on the exact number of parables in the Gospels as the definitions of what constitutes a parable differ, but 40 is probably a safe number. Of those 40 parables, nearly half directly address money. Think of the pearl of great price, the lost coin, the silver talents and of course, the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER In that parable, Jesus talks about four kinds of soil where the sower casts his seed. Let’s look at each of them and what they mean. In verses 3 and 4 we read, Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it The hard soil in this passage is usually seen to represent someone who is hardened by sin. He hears the Word but doesn’t understand it. It sits on the surface and becomes bird food. The birds, of course, are usually seen to represent Satan, plucking away those lost in sin. Then in verses 5 through 7, Jesus says, Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Here, the stony soil represents someone who at first seems to take great delight in hearing God’s Word, but his heart doesn’t follow along. He has no foundation, so when trouble or hardships come along, he loses his faith. Hardship, of course, can be many things, but very often, it takes the form of financial difficulty. It could be a job loss, a business failure or in so many cases, debt. Without a firm foundation in God’s Word, particularly God’s financial principles, what seemed to be rock solid faith disappears in the rocky soil. Okay, now we come to the third soil. In Mark 4:7, Jesus says, Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. At this point, we might not think Jesus is talking about finances, but several verses later he goes into more depth about each type of soil. In verses 18 and 19, He addresses the third soil, saying, And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. So there’s no question that Jesus is talking about the danger of loving money more than God. The Gospel is choked out not only by the worries of this life, and more specifically by the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things. The warning is that achieving great financial success can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than having financial difficulties. That’s because when we acquire wealth our sin nature makes us want to believe that we did it all on our own. So while we may have great wealth, there’s no fruit. We’re proven unfaithful. There’s nothing wrong with acquiring wealth. Money itself is neither good nor bad. More on that in a minute. THE FOURTH SOIL Now, you can avoid becoming any of these first three soils by being the fourth. Jesus describes it in verse 20, saying, But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. We want to bear fruit in all of our Christian walk, but we should pay particular attention to our finances because Jesus did so in this parable. We have to remember that God owns everything and that He is sovereign. We have to remain grateful and generous with those resources. The more generous we are, the less of a stranglehold finances will have on us. Giving breaks the hold of materialism. On today’s program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is a good option for an online savings account or loan? ● Does it make sense to break up I-bond purchases in smaller increments? ● How can you invest in a way that is consisten with your values? ● As a government employee, should you invest money outside of a TSP? ● How do you go about starting a nonprofit organization? ● Should you prioritize building up an emergency fund or paying off credit card debt? RESOURCES MENTIONED: ● Ally Bank ● Capitol One 360 Checking ● Marcus ● BankRate.com ● NerdWallet.com ● Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor ● Christian Credit Counselors Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to [email protected]...

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Workplace Changes Here To Stay

Many of the changes brought on by COVID were temporary but some are here to say. That’s especially true in the workplace. We’ll talk about those likely permanent changes today on MoneyWise. Due to office shutdowns during the pandemic, employers bent over backwards to keep work flowing, giving employees much greater flexibility, including working from home, like never before. It was a trend already underway to a limited extent, but analysts say the pandemic catapulted the workplace years or decades into the future practically overnight. HERE TO STAY Organizational psychologist Anthony Klotz, the guy who coined the term the Great Resignation, now says many of those changes are here to stay. Klotz predicted a year ago this month that COVID would spark mass resignations. He sure got that one right. A record 48 million workers left their jobs in 2021, and the trend continues, with four and a half million of them saying I quit this past March alone. Employers are paying a lot more attention to the needs of employees in an effort to retain them and recruit new hires, instituting policies to help with physical, mental and financial health. Klotz says the result is a series of changes that might not have taken place for another 30 years, most notably job flexibility and expanded work-from-home opportunities. The result is that millions of workers have now learned they can do their jobs anywhere. WORKING REMOTELY It’s not a matter of keeping them down on the farm. Workers have proven they can be productive on a farm or anywhere else, like the kitchen table or even the local coffee shop. All they need is broadband Internet. Rather than returning to the office, millions of workers are moving to the suburbs and rural areas, keeping their jobs without having to commute. Or they’re looking for new opportunities that allow them to work remotely. For employees that must come into the office, employers have stepped up onsite changes, including things like a 4-day work week and greater flexibility with hours. It’s not like they have a choice. A study by CareerBuilder showed that job announcements giving employees work-from-home opportunities now draw seven times more applications than onsite positions. And they the gamut of fields, with managers, tutors and therapists being among the most popular with applicants looking for remote work opportunities. Applicants are insisting on flexibility and wellness like never before. A LinkedIn survey found that nearly two-thirds of job seekers now say that the chance to better balance work and home life is a top priority. Many other departing workers have cited low pay, a lack of advancement opportunity and employer disrespect as the chief reasons they quit. Another change sparked by COVID is the huge increase in the number of people leaving jobs to start their own businesses. The Census Bureau reports that applications to form new businesses hit 5.4 million in 2021. So by now you’re probably wondering just who are these companies offering perqs like work-from-home and hour flexibility? It’s no surprise at all that topping the list is Zoom Video Communications. Dell computers is also on the list, along with the travel app Hopper. Intuit is also in the mix, offering work from home for tax professionals, including attorneys and CPAs. The health field is well-represented. United Health, Trusted Health and BroadPath Health Solutions are all giving their employees the opportunity to work from home, among other benefits. That’s what’s happening in today’s workforce. We hope you can put some of that information to use. On today’s program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What’s the difference between a standard financial advisor and a Kingdom Advisor? ● How do you recalculate Social Security benefits if you reenter the workforce after beginning to draw SS benefits? ● Is there a way to avoid capital gains tax on the sale of a rental property? ● If your employer doesn’t offer a 401k plan, where should you invest? ● What can you do about a late income tax refund? ● Should you hire a professional to handle your taxes or do it yourself using online software? Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to [email protected]. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29