A Different Economy

You can almost imagine Paul speaking strongly into Timothy's life... "Listen, this is important..." he says, locking eyes with the apprentice. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:9-11)

These words from the Apostle Paul to his protégé, Timothy, speak powerfully to the many economic challenges before us. Paul reveals a process that is so familiar to me. First, he talks of “temptation” (which whispers “Wouldn’t it be good if I could have that”). Once that temptation is succumbed to, it traps us (“How am I going to pay for this??”) and then, once unmet, these traps can ultimately destroy us. Sadly, we see this ‘tempt/trap/destroy’ process in many areas of life, beyond just our finances.

The good news of the kingdom of God, though, is that within this kingdom we operate from a different currency! It is a currency of love, righteousness, godliness, faith, endurance, and gentleness. As we spend this currency around the world, we make significant investments in our long-term portfolios.

Let's live in this different economy!