Some preachers say that if you have faith, God will make you rich. And if you are struggling with money, some of us start to wonder what we did wrong.
Jesus talked about money a lot. What he said does not match that idea.
The man who built bigger barns
A man in a crowd once asked Jesus to make his brother split the family money with him. Jesus said no to that. Then he warned everyone to be careful about wanting more, because a person's life is not about how much stuff they have.
He told them a story. A rich farmer had such a good harvest that he had nowhere to keep it. So he tore down his barns and built bigger ones. He told himself he could relax for years. But that same night, his life ended. All that grain, and none of it went with him.
Look at the flowers
Then Jesus turned to his followers. Many of them were poor. They worried about food and clothes, the way a lot of us do at the end of the month.
He pointed to the wild lilies growing in the field around them.
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:27 · King James VersionThe original Greek
κατανοήσατε τὰ κρίνα πῶς αὐξάνει· οὐ κοπιᾷ οὐδὲ νήθει· λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, οὐδὲ Σολομὼν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ περιεβάλετο ὡς ἓν τούτων.
Found in Papyrus 75 (about AD 200), Codex Vaticanus (about AD 325), Codex Sinaiticus (about AD 350).
Solomon was the richest king in his people's history. He had gold, palaces, and fine robes. And Jesus said a wild flower, one that would be dried and burned as fuel in a day or two, was dressed better than him.
He told them that if God takes that much care with a flower, he cares even more about them.
What this means for you
Having money is not a sign God loves you more. Being short on money is not a sign he loves you less. Jesus spent his life with poor people, and he had very little himself.
If you are worried about money right now, that worry is real, and it is hard. Many of us lie awake afraid about rent or a bill, and some of us feel ashamed to say so. You can tell God about it. And you can know that your worth to him was never in your bank account. It is in being his child, and being loved.