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| Source: sheevaunmoran.com |
There are some crazy links in the human body that my kids find fascinating.
For example, they think it's a riot when someone makes them laugh hard at the precise moment they are drinking, and water comes shooting out of their nose.
They also giggle whenever they hold their nose and try to carry on a normal conversation in their new-found, nasally voice.
My son is also intent upon trying to sneeze while keeping his eyes open--still can't be done!
Our bodies are weird like that, aren't they?!
Jesus spoke about a very interesting connection of our heart and soul, that is also mysterious, and cannot be appreciated without the help of His wisdom and insight.
One of those surprising interconnections is between our heart and our money.
Here's a verse you may be familiar with:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" --Matthew 6:21
I've read this verse a dozen or more times in my life, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally understood it.
You see, I had always interpreted this verse to mean that you will spend your money on what you desire and find important in your life. For example, if you really love paper-crafting like I do, you will spend your money on paper, stamps, inkpads, and craft supplies. Or if you love to play tennis, you will spend your money on rackets, tennis outfits, and tennis shoes.
But this is not what this verse is saying; I had gotten it all backwards!
This verse is speaking to the fact that your heart will follow after the things you invest your money in. Look at it again: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." In other words, your money, necessarily dictates where your passions, concerns, and delight will be. And when we think about it, this makes perfect sense. If you were to invest money in Krispy Kreme stock, you would begin to pay attention to how well the company was performing in the stock market on a regular (perhaps even daily) basis. You might choose to eat Krispy Kreme donuts over Dunkin' Donuts, and you might suggest Krispy Kreme donuts if your boss asks you from where to stock the break room breakfast items. See what happened here? Did your money follow your heart, or did your heart follow your money?
Now, you might think that I am just splitting hairs--could this just be like the proverbial chicken-and-egg conundrum? Does it really matter whether our money follows our heart, or our heart follows our money?
I'm here to suggest to you that yes, yes it does.
It makes a huge difference.
Let me tell you why.
What this means is that we must sometimes make financial decisions before our heart feels like it. For example, we might need to invest our money in our church, a mission trip, or in a Christian charity before we really feel the joy of giving, or feel convinced it is even worthwhile or necessary. But, once we do give our money in obedience to Christ, our heart will follow! This is good news! We will start to care about the people we reached out to help financially. We will become more personally invested in our church and in our world at large. We cannot wait until the feelings come, dear friend! We must first act in obedience to how the Lord commands us to spend our money, and then the desire, joy, passion, and delight will follow.
Now, you might be wondering what the Bible says about money, and how God tells us to spend it. Good question! We will be talking more about that in the next several blog posts to come. For now, let us marvel at this beautiful connection that our dear Lord spoke about during His Sermon on the Mount:
Our hearts necessarily follow our money.
What does this mean for you, dear one? How will this transform your week? Will it make you pause before you spend something online or write that next check? Let us prayerfully consider where our money goes, and what our heart chases after as a result!
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