Wealth And The Trust In God Conflict (2024)

I’d say it’s a fundamental desire of every person to grow their wealth so they can provide for themselves, buy some extra things they want and retire with dignity.

We spend many of our waking hours at jobs that pay us to work so we can meet these financial goals. If we work long enough and are smart with money, we can accumulate significant wealth along the way.

I’d also say it’s a fundamental desire of every Christian to trust in God. We put our trust in God initially for our salvation. We also know that we are to continue that trust in Him throughout our life. We trust in God for our daily needs, for strength, for protection and, as Proverbs 3:5-6 puts it, so that “…he shall direct your [our] path.”

A Conflict Between Growing Wealth & Trusting In God

Somewhere along the journey though our trust in God and the growing of our wealth collide.

At times we can find ourselves abandoning our trust in God for daily needs and replace it by trusting in our accumulated wealth. Instead of waiting patiently and trusting in God to supply a need, we simply head to the bank to withdraw some money.

“Hey God, no need to sweat this one. I’m financially secure…I got it covered.”

The Rich Fool

It’s as though we end up living the life of the rich fool.

You remember the parable Jesus told about him, right? The Bible says in Luke 12:16-19 that,

“…the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry.’”

This man reached the point where he trusted only in his wealth to sustain him. Obviously he had been a great businessman to accumulate so much. In the end his wealth became on what he relied. He trusted solely on his wealth for his present and future and chose to abandon his attention to God for his needs.

The King Who Trusted In God

Conversely, on the other end of the spectrum we have King David. He wrote in Psalm 20:7,

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

In the Bible, chariots and horses were a sign of wealth. The more you had the wealthier you were. As king, David surely had an abundance of each. If there was any person who could put his trust in his own might and his own wealth it would have been him. However, we don’t see him expressing that attitude in this verse.

David is sharing a secret formula with us. He realizes what we all need to understand – that a satisfying Christian life is not built on wealth or possessions. We can only find true satisfaction by trusting in God as our provider and relying on Him for our needs. That thought needs to be remembered over and over again and diligently acted upon each day.

Fighting The Urge To Trust In Wealth, And Not God

So how do we fight the urge to turn our trust away from God? Well, we have to go back for the outcome to the barn building of the rich fool. As you recall, the ending of Jesus’ parable wasn’t pretty.

“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21)

Sadly, this man met an unfortunate end. The day these words left his mouth would also be the last day of his life. It didn’t matter how much wealth this man had accumulated, it would no longer meet his present or future needs. He couldn’t trust in it to save him. The security of his wealth had blinded him from his need to trust in God.

God has given us the ability to work and grow wealth. It’s clear from Scripture there is nothing inherently wrong with doing that. But our wealth – much like our lives – is like a vapor. It could be here one moment and gone the next.

To put our trust in something so uncertain and fleeting as earthly richesis foolish.

To that end, let our mind and our daily practice be like that of David who said,

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Ps. 34:8)

Questions: Have you found yourself trusting in your wealth? How do keep the focus on God and rely on Him each day?