In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3, NIV)
Spend time consuming golf content these days, and it’s almost impossible to avoid the subject of Saudi money. In fact, even news stations that don’t typically mention golf are weighing in on the new LIV tour and what it means for the current golf ecosystem.
Talk about it long enough, and the question inevitably comes up: What’s your number?
Let’s put the moral arguments of a Saudi-backed tour aside for the sake of this devotion, and talk about valuable conversations this question can prompt.
Where do jobs come from? Houses? Cars? The money in your wallet?
Put simply: God made the world and everything in it. He made you and designed you with unique gifts and opportunities that are woven together for his glory and the advancement of his kingdom. We are stewards of his gifts.
This truth brings us to the next crucial point laid out in Matthew 6:24: No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
So, the question What is your number? is a flawed one for the Christian. No amount of money alone can dictate what we do in this world or how our talents are used. As Matthew goes on to explain in chapter six, there is no need to worry about money when our trust is in the Lord.
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27)
Our treasure lies not on this earth but in the heavens.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6: 19-21)
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for all that you’ve given us. We confess that our worldly desires sometimes distract us from what you have planned for us. Forgive us of the times we have served our wallets and 401ks rather than your will.