Financial Delusions, Why You Struggle With Money

Are you struggling with your finances regardless of how much you earn?

Are you constantly desiring things that are out of reach for your budget and making yourself miserable because you cannot have them? Even worse, you may be justifying why you need them and overextending yourself by purchasing these items with credit before you can actually afford them? If this is the case you may be sabotaging yourself from receiving true blessings and real prosperity. The truth is, it really does not matter if you struggle to make ends meet or you earn lots of money. You are stressed because of your constant striving for more and more of the things of this world, or you are in debt up to your eyeballs trying to pay for and maintain those things you have already acquired. The desires of the world will pass away, God reminds us not to put our faith in these things. Review the following verses.

John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Romans 8:5

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Ecclesiastes 2:17-18

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me

Meditate on that for a moment, if your first priority is self seeking worldly things (idols) which are a big no-no in the Ten Commandments, you will never find lasting peace in worldly things. As in the verse above, the king in the book of Ecclesiastes who after much worldly toil (pursuits) discovered that true peace and happiness is found in the Lord and obeying His commands. The funny thing is he was a very wealthy king and could acquire and accomplish anything he wanted to do.

God knew the struggles we would have with money on this earth. Jesus spoke about money in 17 of the 38 parables in the bible. When was the last time you actually stopped to consider where you focus most of your energy. Do you spend most of your time focusing on how you will achieve a bigger home, a new car, stretching yourself out for that new flat screen or surround sound system your friend just purchased? We are not defined by our possessions or how much money we make but rather by our hearts.

Mathew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

Mathew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

There is nothing wrong with wanting nice things, we all do that. The point I am driving at is keeping it all in its proper perspective. Sure, you may have a family with needs and we are supposed to work to fulfill those needs however, the scriptures reveal that money and our commitment to God are interconnected.

The world is full of constant marketing for everything you can imagine today. You find it everywhere you go TV, radio, internet, magazines, direct mail, billboards. We are constantly bombarded with this stuff such that we become delusional about those things that we think we need but really we are just creating false needs, which leads to discontentment. If you do not learn to control this yearning you will eventually end up over extended wondering how you got in that situation, regardless of how much you earn. People with bigger paychecks usually buy bigger more expensive houses, cars and so on.

Proverbs 21:20

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

Proverbs 21:25-26

The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.

When you review these verses carefully they explain that those who properly give and save will have much and those who seek selfish desires only will find disappointment. If you find yourself in this predicament take a deeper look at the time you invest in your pursuits and ask yourself: 'are they worldly or divine?' In other words, are you looking to fulfill your own plan for your life or the plan God has for you? God's will for you includes success and prosperity, however, only in his timing. God owns everything; he is the true controller of money and true lasting peace. Only when you reorganize your priorities focusing on God's work and purpose will you be at peace about your finances. I challenge you to track your expenditures for a month or two and then try reorganizing in this order: tithing, expenses, saving and then lifestyle purposes. When you choose to follow these principals you will see true blessings, peace in your heart and real prosperity like you never imagined. What we truly desire in our emptiness is love, and we choose to fill it with whatever will fill that void. God is love! Fill your heart with God's love and everything else you need and desire will follow.

Proverbs 19:20-22

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.

Romans 12

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.