Would you like to achieve financial security? How much money would it take for you to have it? Security means that we don’t have to worry. It means that we can trust in one resource to be true all of the time. This desire for security came from God providing man every seed-bearing plant and every fruit-bearing tree (Genesis 1:29).
The first sin was pride, man desiring security apart from God (Genesis 3:5-6). God had created Adam and Eve with humble hearts. The focal point of their security was God, who satisfied their desires. However, pride made man the focal point of his own desires. Now each person is born with and chooses a proud heart (Genesis 8:21), focusing on his giftedness rather than godliness.
Money is pride’s measurement of our giftedness (time, talent, and treasure). Wisdom is humility’s measurement of our godliness (Christ in us). Christ is the image of God (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). He is humble in heart (Matthew 11:29), and He is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Humility toward Christ is the beginning of His wisdom in our lives (Proverbs 11:2).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned His disciples about attempting to satisfy their desires with money. He offered wisdom as an alternative. The fourth desire He addressed was security (Matthew 6:25-34).
Pride seeks security from money. “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25a). When our hearts are hard, we focus on our own selfish desires, seeing money as the ticket to the doorway of security. We desire to be financially secure so that our needs will always be met. This leads us to a life of worry because we fear not having enough. Deep inside our hearts, we are not merely trusting in money for security, we are trusting in ourselves — our ability to earn, keep, and grow the stockpile of cash.
The result is insecurity. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life” (Matthew 6:27). The more we pursue the satisfaction of our desire for security apart from God, the more insecure we become. Insecurity is worrying that our resource will not remain true. Worry is literally a divided mind, or heart. We trust in God a little and in ourselves a lot. We think that by doing so we will add security to our lives.
We were created to function by trust; however, sometimes we have trust in the wrong object — that which is temporary, rather than that which is eternal. Jesus summed it up as having “little faith” (Matthew 6:30). Paul called it walking by sight — having faith in what we see around us, rather than believing in Who is in us (2 Corinthians 4:18; 5:7). When we worry, we trust in the gifts rather than the Giver, in our giftedness rather than godliness.
Our insecurity perpetuates the need to prove that our resources are true. So we find ourselves leveraging our time, talent, and treasure towards those ends. This occurs most frequently where our self-trust is highest: in tasks where we are skilled or in relationships where we are most familiar. The outcome is a never-ending cycle of trusting in our giftedness to prove our security, and the outcome is further insecurity. Jesus commanded us to stop the cycle of insecurity, saying: “Do not worry” (Matthew 6:31). Worrying is for the proud who do not trust God; the humble trust that God knows their needs (Matthew 6:32).
How have you sought security apart from God? Where do you go and what do you pursue in order to feel secure? What has been the result?
In our pride, we seek security apart from God, and the result is insecurity. However, when life is centered in Christ, we discover that His truth is greater than our desire for security.
Episode 198: Do Security in Christ from mitchkrusetv on Vimeo.