Four Things You Shouldn’t Do with Your Money By Rick Warren
“Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”Luke 12:15 (NLT)
In Luke 16, a manager is accused of mishandling his master’s money and is called in to give an account, so the manager devises a plan. He decides to make some friends who will take care of him when he is fired by lowering the debt of everyone who owes his master money.
When the master hears what he has done, he “had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light” (Luke 16:8 NLT).
To be shrewd means you’re smart, strategic, and resourceful—and God wants you to learn how to be biblically shrewd with your money.
From the story, we can learn four things that we shouldn’t do with our money.
Don’t waste your money.
Luke 16:1 says, “A report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money” (NLT). Because everything you have belongs to God and is a gift from him, including your money, you have to be careful not to waste what belongs to your master.
Don’t love your money.
You have to decide what comes first in your life—God or making a lot of money. Both can’t be your top priority.
The Bible says, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Luke 16:13 NLT).
Don’t trust your money.
I don’t care how much money you’ve got—you can always lose it. The manager quickly learned this in Luke 16:3: “Now what? My boss has fired me” (NLT).
If you want to be secure, then the center of your life has to be built around something that can never be taken from you. And there’s only one thing that you can never lose: God’s love for you.
Don’t expect your money to completely satisfy.
Having more money will never make you happier, more secure, or more valuable: “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NLT).
If you want to be a shrewd manager of everything God has given you, start by avoiding these four things when you manage your money.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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