Does the Bible say that money is evil?

Speaker A: Welcome back to the Passion With Purpose podcast. Today we are asking the big question, is money evil for the Christian entrepreneur to be pursuing? Is wanting money evil? When does money making become greed? Is it wrong to charge high prices? Is it better to be poor, have an average amount of money, or is it better to be rich? This is a very nuanced topic and I get asked about it more than you would think, think. And I have actually myself also wrestled through this topic so many times. I've even done a podcast episode kind of similarly touching on a lot of these things. Um, but I want to do another one updated because I owe it to you to speak on this type of a topic periodically. You know, I am a business coach and that's the main thing that I do is I teach people how to make money, right? So I'm also a Christian and Christian is actually what I should have mentioned first. Um, so ultimately I should be tackling these topics together and I should be addressing this because if money is evil, then I should not be teaching people how to do it. But if money is not evil and there's a different story to be told, then I should be telling that story, right? So this just disclaimer, this will be from a biblical Christian perspective, what I'm about to say here. If we didn't have any certain thing as an objective standard, we would, would have no standard, right? This would just be a my ah, opinion piece, which that's zero objective standard for morality. That's all just subjective. Um, that's worthless to you. So for that reason, I will be using the Bible as the standard that transcends me or you and I will be taking a Christian perspective on this. So again, whether you are Christian or not, as I always tell people like, you're welcome to stick around for the discussion. I would love to have you listen in. Now, instead of rigid answers getting into this, I want to give you a general perspective that I've come to over the years after reading much scripture, reading this Bible, praying through the things that I have read, consulting with people I respect on this topic. Um, I do believe I've heard from the Holy Spirit on this many times and then my own personal experience. And I in no means want this episode to be your answer, your final answer on these topics of money making. I don't want that, nor do I deserve that kind of pressure. I want you to be searching the Scriptures out for yourself. You ask the Holy Spirit, you read the Word, you pray about it as well. I want this to just be a starting Point for you and a conversation starter. And I want to share some of the wisdom that I have accumulated over the years. And if you share my faith, I believe you should be doing the going deeper first and foremost with the Lord, not just on a podcast episode. Now, that said, I want to start with my story with money, as an entrepreneur. And my story really begins with me not having the Lord as a part of my business at all. And when I first started out as a business owner, as a photographer, I really failed to understand for much of my early career what where, like God would fit into my professional life. Yes, I was a Christian at that point, I believe, but it seemed like there were two departments of kind of my life. There was this Christian department and maybe ministry, and then there was this other department which was business and career. And there was kind of no overlap. So I didn't really want to mix those two because I was like, you know, maybe if, if God would get into. God probably doesn't care about my career, right? God doesn't care about these, these frivolous things like greedy things like money. And, um, anything that he thinks about my business or my career is probably just going to be, like, negative. So I didn't want to include him in any of that. And I thought making money, chasing success, seeking achievement, those are all worldly things. Obviously that's what everybody tells us, right? So what I ended up doing was I just ended up gripping that career and gripping that business and gripping that money making even more tightly. And I never gave them over to the Lord because I was just scared to, which is so funny to me now as I look back. Um, and I also grew up thinking that money was evil. So that's obvious why I would have gripped that so tightly apart from giving it to the Lord. I, I heard phrases that people would repeat. Money, Money is the root of all evil. That's what I thought the verse read over time because that's what people would say. And it doesn't read that, by the way, the Bible verse does not read that. It actually reads, the love of money is a root to all kinds of evils. Okay, so that's completely different verse and we'll get into that. Um, I also thought that any desire I had for money or success was fundamentally evil and sinful. I thought that it would just bend the road to me losing my faith. I thought it must be an evil desire because look at how much the Bible warns about money, as I heard the preachers say, um, and I must just want it because of selfish and material reasons alone, Therefore, I cannot justify pursuing it wholeheartedly. I kept regurgitating these thoughts over and over again for years. And then I remember one day, it was. I believe it was April 13th of 2021, and it's 2021 or 2020, and I found myself at just this wit's end. Um, I found myself needing, like, desperate for direction from the Lord in my business. Like, truly desperate. Um, I still remember exactly where I was. I was sitting on the floor, um, in my office, of my apartment at the time. My face was in my hands. I was literally weeping, just crying out to God, asking him to give me something, and just surrendering myself to his ways. Finally, because my business was not thriving, things were not going well in my business. Um, and so I was like, okay, Lord, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm giving it to you, right? And so it's so interesting because that was one of the most pivotal moments of my career and even of my thoughts on business and money. Um, ever since then, the Lord has completely changed my view of my work and his role in it and of money itself. And, um, one of the key moments that I remember during this specific time period was I was taking an online coaching program. This was probably like five to six years ago. And there was this coach that told me to write out, why do you want money? And this coach actually wasn't even Christian, so they didn't even know maybe what they were doing by this for me. But, um, I remember I ultimately said in these little. In the student workbook, um, different things, that actually they weren't what I thought maybe they were going to be in terms of like, I just want a big house, or I just want a nice car, blah, blah, blah. But I actually started writing out things like, I want money to be the best I can be given what God has given me. Or I want money to provide for my family. Or I want to make money to eliminate stress and daily thoughts of money. I want to make money to be openly generous whenever I felt like it. I, uh, want to make money to be able to invest in people, in ministries, etcetera, in the name of Christ, or to be able to serve my wife so that she can live a career, free life, Life without worry and choose the life she wants to raise her children. I want to make money to be able to have, um, credibility as somebody in the industry. And so crazy, because I realized as I looked at this list, I was like, hold on a second. These are not bad things. I believe these were all God given desires, not evil desires. Now are, uh, those my only motivating factors? Like, was I just as pure as the driven snow? And I never had any selfish motivation for making money. No. I truly believe I still had to and have to battle some really yucky motivations for making money too. You know, pride, materialism, self sufficiency, personal significance. Um, you know, the list is probably endless, but I will be so for real with you. If the first list wasn't there, I doubt I would be doing what I'm doing in my career. I, I don't believe those factors of pride and materialism are my first and foremost factors. I, I don't believe they are because, and I, I believe that's not of me, that's of the Lord, that's of the Holy Spirit living inside me. That has given me better motivating factors that actually drive me. I have to fight the negative yucky factors, motivating factors within me. But here's the deal. You will always be fighting sinful parts of yourself in your life. I will always be fighting those yucky motivating factors in my life as well. So it's kind of like if I were to choose like this, like, you know, average job in sales, like in a cubicle somewhere, making 70,000 per year. Here's the deal, guys. Like, I probably would be battling the exact same things in that smaller scale career that I could do there than at what I do now in like a larger scale, right? Like there's this, um, there's this girl we love in our house, um, a singer that we love in our house. We play her all the time. Her name is Tori Kelly. Maybe you've heard of her. And, uh, her voice is just incredible. But she is also like a very outspoken Christian. And she kind of like, she's not like a fully Christian artist, but she does put up most of her music has like a Christian bend to it. Um, and it's so funny because imagine I think to myself, I've told Kayla about this. I was like, imagine if Tori said, well, because I'm a Christian, I'm not gonna sing. Because I notice I can actually be prideful up on stage, right? Or I notice I can be self seeking as a pop star. I would be like, what are you talking about? You'd be wasting your talents, Tori. That's not to say that we waltz on into circumstances where we are most tempted, but it is to bring light to the fact that sin and temptation will be there no matter what our potential Is no matter what levels of success we achieve, the difference must be seen in our heart, no matter the circumstances of our life or role we find ourselves in. So I'd be like, tori, you better. You better open your mouth and sing, because that's the Lord's gift for you to share with the world and bring him glory. Fight the sin, fight the pride. By the way, I have no idea if Tori Kelly struggles with that, but I'm just saying for, uh, us, fight the sin, fight the pride, but don't. Don't walk away from the gift that God has given to you to steward. So the dangers of it, let's be. Be fair, and let's actually talk about the dangers of money warned about in the Bible. So, um, the love of money is warned about multiple times in scripture, period. It is a potentially corrupting force, and I would say one of the most powerful for humans. So let's read the verse. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. But, but I was. I don't want to just read that one verse. I don't like doing that. I want to read that verse in its context, in the surrounding verses as well. Not just one verse. Okay, so verse six of that chapter starts with this. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Verse 7. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. Verse 8. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and perceived. Excuse me, Pierced themselves with many pangs. Okay. And then, uh, it goes on to say, but as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love and steadfastness. Gentleness. Fight the good fight of. Fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many who witnesses. And then I'm going to jump to verse 17. It says, as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy, there to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life, unquote. Okay, so now, as I just read that, I want to notice a couple things here pull apart. First, that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. So it says, flee from it. Do not love it. Do not love money. Now, is Paul saying here that Paul is the writer? Is Paul saying here in the Bible to flee money? Or. Or is he saying flee the love of money? I fully believe he is saying flee the love of it. To flee money altogether would not be being, as the Bible says, in another place in the world and not of it. Money is a construct of this world to. To completely say, I will not touch. Money is a way in which you do not live in the world at all. Like, you can't function in the world if you do not have money, if you do not transact money for something else. Right? So I do not believe Paul is saying that at all. Remember, Paul confirms the importance of money, even for his own ministry. You see, in Philippians 4, 15, 16. Uh, it's the clearest example. Paul explicitly in this, uh, passage is thanking the Philippian Church for being the only church that entered into, quote, a gift giving and receiving partnership with him. And he mentions that they sent him aid more than once while he was in Thessalonica, another place. He calls their gifts a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Uh, Paul was also a tent maker by trade, which is a kind of entrepreneur. That means he's a kind of entrepreneur. Uh, this is to the point where he often didn't even accept money from the churches that would have supported him, which he says was his due. Why didn't he accept this money? Because he was like, hey, I'm able to actually make my own money. I'm good because I'm a tent maker. I'm an entrepreneur. So you put all this together, it would follow. Paul is not saying money is evil and to pursue it is evil. Just forget money. Money is not a part of our Christian life at all. No, I do not believe he's saying that at all. He is saying to love it can be evil. To desire it, to desire to be rich, to crave it. And if you notice, these are all human characteristics. Which leads me to kind of another point. Let's say you have. Let's say you have a food craving. It's the same word Paul used, crave. Let me ask you this. When do you have that craving? Usually do you have that craving when you're in a full stomach or an Empty stomach could be both. Kind of doesn't matter, does it? And I'd say, if anything, usually a craving comes when you have an empty stomach. I believe that it is the same as a craving for money. Having money isn't the issue, it's the craving of the money, which, by the way, the rich and the poor can have alike. And often I think I'm just going to say this. I think it can even be more of a temptation to love money for those who do not have money. Okay, let me, let me read some of these verses again. Back in verse nine, it says, those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, unquote. So Paul could have said here, but did not say, those who are rich fall into temptation. Now he said, who desire to be. Verse 10, he says, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. He could have said, for having money or making money or pursuing money is a root of all kinds of evils. But he did not say that. Uh, another verse says, it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith. He could have wrote, it is through this wealthiness or richness that some have wandered away from the faith. He didn't say that. He said craving. So you guys, when you read these verses, when we read these verses, and even when you hear like a pastor reading these verses to you, we must be careful that we are not putting words into Paul's mouth, into the scripture writer's mouth. Loving money versus pursuing or stewarding money are spoken about very differently in the Bible. Okay, um, now do I think that having a lot of money can add a natural temptation and difficulty to one's journey of faith? I do. I do. The verses we just read kind of just said that, I think, in many ways. And then you go to, uh, where it's, uh, there's, um, a story of a rich man that Jesus talks to. And I think a of lot, a lot of people reference this. You, you've heard of the story of the rich young ruler. And this is in Luke. And so I'm just going to read the story of the rich young ruler. This guy who comes up to Jesus, okay, And this guy's rich, he's young, um, and he comes up to Jesus when Jesus was walking on the earth. And, um, he. He approaches him and I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna read it. Okay? Um, you can look this up in the, in the book of Luke, okay? Says, and a ruler asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except for God alone. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. And he, the rich young man, said, all these I have kept from my youth. Now when Jesus heard this, he said back to him, one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and. And come, follow me. But when he, the rich young man, heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Those who heard it said, then who can be saved? But he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God, unquote. Okay, so a couple of things to notice here from this passage. I think when people read this, they oftentimes read it as this story is about me. I'm the rich young man. Like, if I become wealthy, that's going to be me. I'm going to lose my salvation. I can't get into the kingdom of God. Or if I do, it's going to be nearly impossible. Which by the way, means that A, once you make any money, Jesus is just going to tell you to give it all away, or B, that if you ever become rich, it'll be impossible for you to enter the kingdom of God right now. Almost as if to debunk that in a way to debunk those maybe conclusions you might draw from this passage. Directly after this passage in Luke is the story of a man, a whole different guy named Zacchaeus, who was also specified by the Bible as rich. Okay? And A, Jesus did not tell Zacchaeus to give all his money away. In fact, he says, hey, Zacchaeus, we're going to your house today because you've got a big wealthy house, the house that you've got because of all that wealth. And Zacchaeus himself actually chooses himself out of his own volition, to give about half of his wealth away, not all of it, by the way. And he. He commits himself to repay people he cheated. So so much of his money was probably acquired, acquired wrongly, by the way. And then B, the second thing we find in this passage about Zacchaeus is that it was not impossible for Zacchaeus, a rich man, to join the kingdom of God. Not impossible. So what do we make of the original rich young, uh, rich young man, rich young ruler story that happened prior? Here's what I think. I believe that that rich young man had a specific calling on his life from Jesus and a specific directive that Jesus gave him while Jesus was here talking to him. I personally happen to think Jesus may have actually wanted to make him one of his disciples, like his core group, like his core 12. Because he actually says follow me. That's like what he says to so many of his other disciples when he calls them. The young man is. This rich young man is also, while he's talking to Jesus, he rattles off a list of good deeds. You know, he's like, I do this, I do this, I do this and all this to enter the kingdom of God. And I read that as this guy's trying to earn his salvation on his own just by doing all the things right. So I believe here, Jesus maybe knowing his heart is saying, hey, hey buddy, I don't want all of those good deeds. I want your heart. And right now your wealth has your heart. You love your wealth more than you love me. So that's the thing. I need you to give up and follow me. And that's, I believe why Jesus asked him that. Not because of necessarily the money itself, but because of this man's love for that money. So I don't think every single person, this is just my belief. I don't think every single person should read this section of the Bible and say this story right here. Jesus would say the exact same thing to me. I believe there are certain people who have certain callings on their life, some of which are to make money or make a lot of money for Christ's kingdom. But I also believe there are certain people like this guy who have a certain love of money in their life which is so strong and detrimental to their relationship with the Lord that God may say something similar to them. Like he said to this guy, because God loves them, right? Because he's like, hey, this, this is, this is stealing your affection, this is your idol and you've put it in front of me, right? But that being said, I personally do not believe this situation with this rich young man is to be blanket applied to any, every single person in God's kingdom. I fully believe God appoints, ah, strong money making saints in the kingdom to do his will. Right? I'm going to give you another um, section in the book in the Bible that talks about kind of some of the things we're talking about here because again, I Just want to give you a lot of Bible here when we're talking about this. Um, and it's the parable of. Well, let me just read this parable. Okay, so this is where the quote starts in the Bible. And it's Jesus, uh, speaking. He says, for it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted them to his property. To one he gave five talents, to another, two to another one to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more, saying, master, you delivered to me five talents here I have made five talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter in the joy of your master. He also, who had the two talents, came forward saying, master, you have delivered to me two talents here I've made two talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much and turn to the joy of your master. He also, who had received the one talent, came forward and said, master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. But his master answered him, you wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have scattered no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers. And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the 10 talents. For to everyone who has, will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now, notice this passage. Okay? That unquote. This is where, uh, the passage ends. The classic parable of the talents. Right? A lot of you've heard this. The servant with the one talent said what he said. I was afraid and I went and I hid your talent in the ground. This is money we're talking about here, folks. That's what the talent is. It's money. So he says, here, here, master, here. You have what you have what is yours. You just get it back. I believe that God alerts us to the real dangers of having money. But he never says to fear it or to forfeit the potential he's given you because you just fear being wealthy. I think the question is not should I make money at all. The question should be, what is my motivation and heart behind it? Okay, because we've got to bring together. Yes, the passage is about the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. Um, but also, what about this parable of the talents where if you just take what you have and you bury it and you fear what's going to happen, you're not in good standing with the Lord either. So what is this balance here? How can we merge these two truths that seem kind of like polar opposites into the paradoxical truth that I do believe is here? So the question is, what do I do with the money I've made? What is my motivation to heart behind it? Who am I before, during, or after the money is made? Money is not corrupt, my friends. People are corrupt. People are sinful. Money is not sinful. Okay? This parable shows us that if God has given you talents, we are called to multiply them. You are called to multiply the talents that God has given you. To hide your talent and fear to me, is having a negative view of God. And it is telling God that He has measured our capability incorrectly. God does not ask us to live out our giftings in a reserved way. Uh, no, he calls us to live out our callings in a massive, massive way. Right, so what we have here is that the Bible has many parts of it that warn us about the love of money. Absolutely. Very true. But the Bible also has many places in it where God is teaching us that the true source of success and abundance and influence and wisdom, they're from him, they're sourced from him and can be purposed by him for much good. And so if we hold ourselves back in mediocrity for fear of, oh, I don't want to succeed or make too much money. That's just not something God tells us to do ever. Ecclesiastes 9, 10. Whatever your hands finds to do, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might or all your strength. Do we believe that with all our strength? Or do we buy into the escapism that some buy into and say, well, I don't need to do much or be much, because my security of heaven is already locked away, right? No, that's the way of the one talent man who buries his talent while he's on this earth because he's scared of the Master. Or there's a verse that says, whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Uh, you guys, how precise? Excellent and wise and exceptional. Are we going to do it if we say we're doing all of what we do for God's glory? Right. I also say this. The Bible has had many parts of it that speak positively about wealth and asking God for the blessings of abundance. This morning I actually just read in Psalm 144, verses 12 to 15, it says, May our sons in their youth be like plants, full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace. May our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce. This is, by the way, the wealth of that day. May our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields. May our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing. May there be no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. You gu. Guys, these things, uh, that I'm rattling off, these. These are attributes of wealth of that time period, okay? And the psalmist is saying, blessed are we when we receive those types of things from the Lord. Uh, there are many characters of the Bible who were wealthy. You look at Abraham, Genesis 13:2 says he was very rich in livestock and silver and gold. Lydia, uh, in the Bible, she was a dealer in purple cloth. From, uh, you can find her in Acts 16. Just FYI, purple dye was like an extraordinarily in that time. It was the color of royalty and aristocracy. So Lydia ran a business catering to the wealthy, to the luxury markets. She had a house large enough to host Paul's entire company. And she was directly in the kingdom of God. Job, he's, uh, one of the clearest wealth portraits in the Bible. The dude had, like, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 donkeys, it says, very many servants. And then, even after all the trials he went through, God doubles everything. Uh, his wealth was also social. He was a community elder and civic leader whose opinion carried enormous weight. You got Solomon, like, the apex of biblical wealth. His father David, was also wealthy. Um, so many more examples. Joseph of Arimathea, the guy who. His tomb was the tomb Jesus was buried in. And the reason he had that tomb is because he Was he had money. Matthew 20, 2757 explicitly calls him a rich man. So wealth in the Bible is not an indicator of evil by any means. The Bible warns that the love of wealth is dangerous. Yes, but, okay, so we got, we got to put all these pieces together, right? How do we put all these pieces together? That's the question. How do you know you're likely on the right or wrong track? So I want to give you a couple little like what I believe are ways we can piece all this together. I think this is the wrong track, you guys. I think where we know we are not in the right path is, I mean, uh, you got the obvious ones right. Are you lying to people to make money? Are you cheating people to make money? But those things are oftentimes more like legal related. Like, what about the ways we don't often think about? So I'm gonna talk about those more sly ways of making money in an evil way or having the wrong motivations. I kind of think if you are starting with money as the primary goal and working your way backwards into choosing your career or job. By the way, many people do this even with a small job, just to make ends meet. Um, not just people trying to make millions. I think that's the wrong track. If you're just like, what job makes me the most money? That's it. And I've tried that before, by the way. I literally tried that before and it like never works out for me. It's just like, nope, that's not it, Buddy. Matthew, Matthew 6:33 says what it says, seek first the kingdom. So basically seek first the things that are of Christ and his will, and furthering his kingdom and message and glory. So seek first the kingdom and all these things, one of which is money, I believe will be added to you. So I think another thing is if the money that you're trying to make or the way in which you're making it is causing you to compromise your faith or your morality or your personal life. Uh, or if what you are exchanging for money is, let's say objectively bad for the customer or client of your product or your service, or if most people have purchased it, wish they could trade their money back. Yikes. Or let's say if your primary purpose with making the money is completely self focused, if you're just like, yeah, my money that I'm about to make is just for me, is just for me, like, uh, I'll be so real. I've given you a lot of encouragements. Um, but real talk, if you are a Christian. I'll say this straight up. And you do believe the Bible, and you are not an actively generous person right now. Even, like, with whatever you have, honestly, meaning, I'm talking about, like, someone who loves to give to the kingdom of God or to people in need, or you're just, like, a miserly person, and you never want to part with your money, and you're always spending most of your money that you do have on, like, a nicer car or nicer house or nicer clothes or bigger vacations, et cetera. And you're like, that's. Yeah, that's who I am. And that's kind of what I want to do with my money when I want to make money, I'll just be so real with you. I truly would not bother asking God to bless you with lots of wealth. I wouldn't. I really wouldn't. I would sooner ask God. God, change my heart first. Keep me from the love of money. Because whether I don't have it or whether I do have it, if I love money, that's the problem. And if I have more of it, it's probably gonna make it worse, right? And I don't say that to be discouraging. I just say that as a warning, even to myself. Like, uh, anytime. Just. I'll speak for myself anytime my mind is like, uh, I just. I don't know if I want to give this much money and, like, an opportunity of generosity. I always check myself, and I'm like, hey, buddy, if this money was all just for you, then what the heck are we doing here? Because, like, I'll tell you guys, I do not want this episode to just be, like, a free pass of yay. Nate said that the Bible says that God wants me wealthy and driving a Porsche and taking luxury vacations overseas and buying expensive clothing. So that's what I'm going to pursue, just like the rest of the world. Please do not hear that in this episode. If that is what you've heard, you have missed the point of this whole episode. Uh, Psalm 62:10 says, if riches increase, set not your heart on them. So if the Lord blesses you with some cool toys or houses, great, great. But don't set your heart on those things. Don't set your heart on those things. I was just sitting in our house yesterday, and I love my house. I think we actually have a pretty nice house. And to be honest with you, like, I'm not really a car guy. I don't really spend big money on, like, really nice luxury Kind of anything. But like, I like a nice house. I think having a nice house brings glory to God in many senses too. Like, I can share that with people. We can be hospitable. And I think architecture is something that is just so beautiful. And I love putting beautiful architecture in our house and renovation, it's like a creative expression for me. But I was just looking at, um, just like our house yesterday and I was like admiring its beauty and this thought came to my head and this is maybe morbid, but I was like, this house is beautiful. But I was like, it's all gonna burn. It is all gonna burn one day. All of it. It's all gonna just be dust one day. And it like, this will all pass, this will all pass. This will all burn and come to nothing. And the only thing that will stand firm is the Lord, right? So don't set your heart on those things and certainly do not make those things the main goal. Now kind of talked about the wrong track. Let's talk about the right track. So I think if you're starting, and this is kind of just opposite of what I just said, if you're starting with the primary purpose of your endeavors, of your business, of your money making being to glorify God, and money is kind of like the secondary or tertiary thing, I think that's the right thing. Your life motto should be use my God given gifts and abilities to their maximum potential, given the opportunity he has given me for God's glory. Like, hey, if the money allows you to live out your callings more abundantly, that's amazing that you're not, that you're not living in scarcity, right? Or another thing I would say is if what you are exchanging for money is good for the customer or the client you provide it to and you've proof of that. You got those rave reviews, you got people saying, this is beautiful. Thank you. You look through your galleries and you're like, this is beautiful work. Okay, that's a that guys. That's. That's a good thing. That is a good thing to transact, to receive money for, right? You giving that thing to them, you serving them, you delivering a beautiful piece of art to them is I believe, worth more to them than the money in their wallet. Let's talk about another right way. If your primary purpose with making the money is God focused or a God giving calling, which in which in turn would be God focused, I think that's amazing as well. If you want to make money so that you can be generous, that's Amazing as well. I think a lot of people, too, they ask things like, okay, so hold on. What is my calling, though, Nate? Like, uh, how do I know what my calling is? Right. Well, I'll tell you a couple, because I don't think it's as complicated as we always make it. I believe you're called to provide for yourself and your family and not be a burden to others. A financial burden to others. Um, the Bible talks about this. I don't know the references right here, but the Bible talks about not being a burden. Um, the Bible warns against idleness, which is laziness and doing nothing. Uh, it says 2nd Thessalonians 3, 6, 12. If anyone is not willing to work, let them not eat. So are you providing for yourself and your family? That is a primary calling on your life. Right? Laziness is not the way. Idleness is not the way. Uh, I believe not having enough is not the way. If you can fix that, if you can avoid that, um, again, there's seasons. Sometimes you're in a season of need, and you can rest on someone else's wealth. That's a beautiful, beautiful thing. But the goal is not to stay there. The goal is not to stay dependent on other people, I don't think. Unless maybe you have a specific ministry you're in. Um, a second part of your calling, I think, is you're called to contribute to the kingdom of God, to give generously. You read 2 Corinthians verses 8. Uh, are you financially able to contribute to the kingdom? Right. Successful people who are business owners, maybe in the kingdom are just as much a key player in the kingdom as those in ministry. I want you to understand that people that are key wealth bringers can fund the kingdom so that ministers who maybe don't make money on their own can keep doing their good work. I actually saw this in the front lines and actually continue to, because my dad was a pastor growing up, and he actually still works in ministry. And so I see how often he has needed financial titans in the kingdom to fund the ministries he has worked with. Okay, like, these are people who are needed in the Kingdom. They are not ministers themselves. They are money makers. Right? Or like, every year, you guys, we hear it at the end of the year. Remember, Giving Tuesday always comes up like it's. It's right after Black Friday. Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday. Then what? What comes? Giving Tuesday? All the ministries, all the churches, or all the people are asking for money and donations that time of year. Well, during that time period, are you able to give to them or are you like, I just don't. I just don't have enough. Right? You think of Joseph in the Bible. Um, he was given wisdom from God and success. He was able to give so abundantly to the nation of Egypt, to surrounding regions, because he was smart with the wealth and even the wisdom that God gave him during that time period when he interpreted those dreams for the king. Um, here's another calling you have in your life. You're called to not waste your gifts. We just talked about the peril of the talents. And for many entrepreneurs, money is simply a metric. You guys like, that's why many of my student results and case studies for my business blueprint point to money. Because otherwise there'd be no measurable result. Right? You wouldn't know, like, does Nate's program work? Because you want to see the money? Let's see the actual numbers. Are people actually winning? Right. Um, here's another one. What about your role in the industry you're in? How well you're able to bless people, how well you're able to have influence as a light in a godless space? I mean, okay, like, look at me. Like, what if I decided did. I'm not going to show up, you know, I'm not going to record this podcast. I'm not going to be a voice in the entrepreneurship space. Because, um, what about the love of money, right? What if I chose not to pursue any money? What if I chose to smother my voice and my giftings in this industry? I, uh, wouldn't be able to have this platform that I do. I wouldn't be able to record this podcast for you for free. Right. If money wasn't there. So my question is, what about you in your areas, applying these principles to your life? It's a long episode. I could say more, um, but this episode's pretty long. And I admit I tried to take a more encouraging role on this whole money making topic because I believe that the modern church by and large has taken a very discouraging role on money making to business owners. And I think that's really sad. It makes me very sad. I believe I have noticed there are many pastors because it's not their calling to make money, who they don't speak on this or they just warn, warn, warn. But they never encourage their business owners in their congregation or their listeners. And I personally find this to be only preaching one side of the Bible. So today I wanted to offer the other side an encouragement. Not just warning, warning, warning, but also, hey, money is Something that does have purpose. And yes, the love of it is not good. But we should not be terrified of ever touching money in our lives. I don't believe that's the way. So I'm going to end with a story. This is from, uh, the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. I just watched this with my wife this weekend. And um, if you have never watched that movie, I think it's a great movie. Um, it's a story of two runners who made it to the Olympics. It's kind of this tale of two cities. The one runner's name is Harold Abrahams. The other's name is Eric Liddell. And they're both fast, very fast. But Harold Abrahams, he, he ran for himself. The dude was just like out to prove himself to, as he says in the movie, to justify his existence literally. Um, and that's so pervasive, by the way, in the entrepreneurial world when it comes to just making money and influence. And so many people in the entrepreneurship world, you see it all the time. It's like written all over them, trying to justify their existence with the money they can make. It's empty. It's empty, right? And then you have this other guy named Eric Liddell, on the other hand in the movie. And by the way, this is based on a true story and it shows another story while, well, let's just say this, he's. He's also a runner and he's very talented. But, um, there's scene where he's walking with his sister, whose name is Jenny. And his sister Jenny, um, thinks this running thing is so worldly because they're Christians, they're actually missionaries. Um, and this running, him training, Eric's training and getting into the Olympics and all this kind of stuff, um, it takes a lot of time off of him maybe being in the ministry. And so she's like, this is so worldly. And I just want you to be a missionary to China. And her brother Eric Little says, he stops her and says, jenny, you've got to understand, I believe that God made me for a purpose, for China, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure. To give it up would be to hold him in contempt. You were right. It's not just fun. To win is to honor him. I literally like almost get teared up every time I read that because I think it's such a beautiful way of saying something that I think is within all of us when we are living out our God given callings for God's glory. To do. What we do is to honor him, to glorify him. And we feel his pleasure while we do it. Now, did Eric say. You know what, Jenny? You're right. I'm going to stop running. Because even though God gave me this gift and I could bring him glory through it, and I could enjoy him through it, and I. I might have to battle pride. So I'm just going to step away. No, it's not what he says. Remember, the enemy does not just want to tempt you into sin. He wants to steal glory from God and glory that you could bring to God. So if you feel God's pleasure when you run your business. I know I do. So often, if you glorify and honor him with the wealth you make. Guys, please. Don't let the enemies try to stop you. Don't let the enemy try to stop you. So thank you so much for listening, my friend. Keep seeking God on this. Like I've said, reading scripture, praying for wisdom, and I will see you back here next time.