Whether it be assuming that our car breaks will work when we apply them, assuming that a chair will hold us when we sit down, or assuming that our friend will be on time (or late, depending on their personality), we all walk through life with a set of assumptions. More consequentially, we assume that the things at the very center of our lives will fulfill our needs. Anything that isn’t Jesus that takes our ultimate focus and attention in life is an idol. And when it comes to removing an idol from our lives, we can so often go about it without ever asking what need we were seeking to satisfy and how we can replace that idol with something that would legitimately satisfy that need.
When it comes to idols, money is likely the #1 idol of our culture, and the most sensitive to speak about. We all misuse money in different ways. Some of us are ultra-spenders, and some are ultra-savers. Some of us love paying for others in order to be noticed for it. At the heart of loving money is a longing for self-sufficiency. In Luke 12, Jesus speaks thoroughly to the ways we improperly look to money to satisfy our needs. Among other things, He tells us it is a fool’s errand to store up things for ourselves and not be rich towards God, and that our Father knows our needs. Jesus makes it clear that a love for money reveals a lack of trust in God. Because our Father takes care of all creation, we can know He will care for us. When we demonstrate fear that our needs won’t be met, we show what it is that we idolize. In the end, you will either serve God and use money, or serve money and use God.