Money and happiness

"And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23-30)

On at least seven occasions Christ explicitly cautioned His disciples about the dangers of wealth. But, of all His warnings, none is so unsettling as His statement about the wealthy young man who could not bring himself to sell his possessions and give to the poor:

“It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

“Who then can be saved?” His disciples asked.

“With men, this is impossible,” Jesus said, “but with God all things are possible.”

So there was hope for the rich, young man after all. And there is hope for the rest of us who are considered wealthy by the standards of the world.

But for us to grasp that hope, we must see why Jesus was so concerned about the allure of money.

First of all, the old saw that, “money can’t buy happiness,” is only half right. The truth is that money creates an initial rush – a feeling we call “purchasing power – that makes us feel a fleeting sense of happiness. But like any emotional high, the euphoria wears off over time. We become used to it, take it for granted. We no longer think of our possessions as a blessing but rather as entitlements. To achieve that same feeling of elation, we need more money, or what money can buy: material possessions security, status, prestige.

Compulsive spenders are addicted to the feeling they get when they exercise their purchasing power. It's an all-consuming passion. They get a fix each time they swipe their credit card. They're actually obssessed with money.

Yet, once our basic needs have been met, each additional dollar earned and spent delivers diminishing returns in the happiness column. At some point, the pursuit of more money may actually diminish our ability to find joy in the simple pleasures of life. Like the drug addict, our dependency on money can lead to a sense of spiritual paranoia as we approach the upper limit of our earning power. Unable to earn any more, our focus shifts to keeping all we possess. The bigger the bankroll, the tighter the rubber band.

But sooner or later our possessions are destined to wear out, rust out, burn up, turn to mold or decay. If our happiness is linked to our net worth, our souls will shrivel like a prune over time.

The link between money and long-term happiness is so weak that the Wall Street Journal Online revealed 61% of people earning less than $20,000 a year report being "pretty happy" compared to only about 52% whose annual income exceeds $90,000. 

The unsurpassed joy that Jesus offers His followers is everlasting. It begins with an acknowledgement that, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1) Everything is a gift from our loving and Provident Father. We don’t possess it. We merely borrow it. If we count our blessings, our joy will know no bounds.

Verse of the Day is available as a free web service from BibleGateway.com Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.