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Young, Hip and Rich from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

As with most couples, Sylvia and I had separate bank accounts before marriage. I had my money, and she had hers. We each took care of our own expenses. But after we became husband and wife, we merged them into a shared bank account. Now we have "Our money," and each of us has access to it when it's needed. This will become more relevant in a moment. Consider this conversation between Jesus and a ruler who was young, hip, and rich:

(Matthew 19:16–24 NKJV)  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "

The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The rich young ruler had great possessions, and he loved them more than God. So the Lord Jesus asked him to free himself from its snare by giving it all away. It wasn't a word for everyone, for we know the Apostle Peter standing beside Him had a house and a boat. Yet, that was how to fix the love of money. Nail the spirit of greed to the cross, kicking and screaming. This made the rich man very sad, and he went away with his head down. And Jesus let him, for he had made his choice.

(Matthew 6:24 NASB)  "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

God has no shortage of money. He can rain money on you like He did manna on the Israelites. I once heard a brother testify that he and his wife desperately needed 1500 dollars. They prayed about it, and later when they opened their clothes dryer, 15 x $100 bills blew out of it.

It's a trivial thing for the Lord to provide for you. Yet, the love of money, the desire to keep your bank account separate from His, will drive a wedge between you. It will keep you from experiencing His true riches and financial freedom.

(1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV)  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The Lord doesn't want a little of your time or some of your money. But all of you and everything you have, a faithful spouse that can be trusted with true riches. As in a loving marriage, we should take care of His desires before spending on less important things. We need to reach a point where we would rather be pleasing to Him than please ourselves.

(Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV)  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Jesus called many people to follow Him, but some of them began to make excuses, much like the rich young ruler above. And you know what? He let them, and He walked away. For they had made their choice.

(Luke 9:59–62 NKJV)  Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

The Lord is generous, and He wants us to be as well. He loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Yet, if He cannot trust us with money, then we will never see His true riches.

(Luke 16:10–11 NASB)  "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?"

The Pharisees listening to Jesus teach that day made their choice. You can't serve God and money. For you will love one and hate the other, and He will always force you to choose. They hated Jesus for He was trying to separate them from something they loved:

(Luke 16:14 NASB)  Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.

We need to come to a point in our walk where we no longer have "my money," but instead, it's "our money." When you do, when He can absolutely trust you, then you will find that you have a shared bank account that always has enough. God has no shortage, but as you shouldn't give wine to an alcoholic, He won't feed our greed. You cannot serve God and money, but you can certainly serve Him with it and find freedom. Can He trust you enough to have a shared account?

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me understand Your will for me. Help me get in tune with what You are doing on the Earth, and let me be part of Your kingdom. I seek You, Lord! What I have is Yours. If You speak to me in a way I understand, I will do what You tell me! In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!