CEOs, government officials and financial analysts have all made the claim that inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and skyrocketing house prices are all the fault of greedy workers demanding higher wages. This rhetoric rings hypocritical, especially on the part of CEOs since on average they are paid 1322 per cent more than they were today in 1978 (351 times as much as a typical worker). Couple this with the fact that in 2022, Aussie wages actually declined 4.5 per cent. I’m no financial analyst, but you don’t really don’t need to be one to see what’s really going on.
In 1 Timothy 6:10 the apostle Paul says:
“The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
You’ve probably heard this passage a million times before. Money isn’t evil in and of itself. However, the elevation of material wealth above every other pursuit is a pathway to evil.
Historically, Adventists have been firmly against the practice of material adornment. Jewellery was often the target of such zealousness, with camp meetings providing an extra collection plate for rings, cufflinks, brooches and the like. In the 1970s, our fervency against jewellery was renewed. Conferences offered to resell Adventists’ trinkets—all you needed to do was send it in and they would handle the sale on your behalf. Though jewellery was the main target, it also fitted neatly into an ideal popularised by our earliest pioneers, who regularly invested what little money they had back into the church, leaving little for recreation or expensive adornment.
When I see what’s happening in our world today, I see the problem of the “love of money” spiralling out of control. Recently, actors and writers across Hollywood are striking, demanding fairer compensation and better working conditions. Bob Iger, head of Disney called the strikes “very disturbing”, saying that the strikers’ expectations “aren’t realistic”. This was while he was attending the Sun Valley Conference, nicknamed “summer camp for billionaires”. One of the strikers, actor Sean Gunn, when interviewed retorted that Iger is the one whose expectations are unrealistic, given the fact that he makes 400 times what his lowest worker is paid.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells a story about a dishonest manager who is fired by his master. He rushes to his master’s debtors and slashes said debts, conveniently getting in their good books at the same time. Despite the unscrupulous nature of the act, his boss can’t help but be impressed with this act of self-preservation.
Jesus then goes on to say in verse 9: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” In other words, money presents a decision. Do we use our money for personal gain in this life, which we’ll be able to enjoy for a short time, but will fade away when we die? Or do we follow the advice of Jesus and use it to purchase eternal rewards? It seems like a pretty good deal, right? Spend something temporary to buy something that will last forever. I’d be silly not to take that deal!
Of course, it’s not that simple. All of us are tempted in one way or another by the latest gadget, garment, game or any number of other objects of desire. For me, it’s board games. With more than 4,000 new games released every year, I’m constantly enticed by the FOMO and the “cult of the new” (a subset of enthusiasts that constantly chase the latest and greatest, rarely revisiting old classics).
It doesn’t matter what you’re into—we’re all potential lovers of money. The point is not to rid myself of all attachments (after all, I’m not a Jedi). The point is to recognise how the love of money is ensnaring me—and fight back. This may look like slimming down your hobby collection or not upgrading your device this year. Maybe it looks like cooking a meal at home rather than going out to a restaurant or purchasing from the sale rack rather than the new season’s collection.
Rejecting the love of money is just as much about how I choose to spend it as it is about restraining my spending habits. Not making that hobby purchase could allow me to donate to a cause I believe in. Or, to give a larger offering at church. Or, to give a gift to someone down on their luck.
The joy of freedom from the love of money is that it doesn’t turn us into a miser—it sets us free to be as generous as the God who gives so many good gifts to us every single day. I, for one, need that freedom in my life now more than ever. How about you?
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[1] <epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2020/>
[1] <australiainstitute.org.au/post/real-wages-fell-4-5-in-2022-largest-fall-on-record-as-rate-rises-risk-recession/>
WRITER: Jesse Herford, is a pastor and associate editor for the AUS/NZ edition of Signs of the Times