Unicorns & the State of Your Soul

In the past year and a half I have worked in the call center of a bank. Every day I answer calls with a wide range of questions — from one man calling to seriously inquire as to why the bank website was covered in unicorns, to another man screaming at me because the wait music made him “sick to his stomach” (I admit, the wait music is terrible). But it is not these incidents that concern me the most — it is the callers in between. The majority of phone calls that I answer are people who are worried about their money. They want to know how much they have, where it is going, and how much is coming in — all legitimate concerns. Yet, this is their problem: they believe that they have control over their money and the moment they perceive that they have “lost control” they begin a downward spiral. Their money owns them.

Our Hearts & Our Money. Would it surprise you that Jesus talks more about money than any other subject (other than the Kingdom of God)? In fact, the Bible has almost 2000 verses dedicated to money alone — that is more than the verses on faith and prayer combined! But does that mean that God is not concerned about whether we pray or have faith? Does God not care about our spiritual lives? Of course not! He cares about our spiritual lives because they are wrapped up in where we place our trust.

In fact, in Matthew 6 Jesus says:

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Did you see what he says in verse 21? “For where your treasure (the thing that you cherish, value, care about most) is, there your heart (the place of your passions, affections, desires) will be also.” In other words, what Jesus is saying is that our inner lives — that is, our spiritual lives — will be consumed with those things that we care most about. As 6:24 states, “you will be devoted to the one [God or money] and despise the other.” Jesus cares about our money because he cares about the state of our soul.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says that those who love money never have enough (5:10). This is not just true of the rich and powerful, but the poor and weak. Your life can be so devoted to the pursuit of money that it poisons your soul in such a way that you become sick without it and sick with it. But money and earthly possessions will not save us. A person who wins the lottery will find temporary reprieve, but if they are honest with themselves and if we are honest with ourselves, money does not fill the aches inside our hearts.

Earthly Possessions are not evil, but our hearts are. I want to make a quick side note before moving on. Large bank accounts, a new home, a new car — earthly possessions are not evil. God created the things of this world for humanity to enjoy, not to fear. We should not be afraid of what we own because it was given to us as a gift. What we should fear is whether we let it own us. How you react when something is taken from you will show you where your heart is.

Jesus knows that when we check our bank accounts at the end of the month that we feel helpless. He knows that we are afraid of not making rent or of not providing food for our family. Jesus knows this and he has experienced it. Did you know Jesus was poor? Did you know that he was homeless? He says in Matthew 8:20 that he has “no place to lay his head.”

Yet, when Satan offered him the kingdoms of the earth Jesus refused. Why? Because he is the King above all kings. He is God and he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns everything! Jesus knew his identity. He knew who he was and that what Satan was offering him was his already. So, he trusted the Father’s plan. He trusted that despite how hard his suffering and death might be, that the Father would give him all things. He was devoted to God because God had proven himself trustworthy and faithful.

For those who are Christians, earthly possessions do not own us — Jesus does. We are his. A people for his own possession. Jesus purchased us by his blood — he died for us that we might have life abundantly. That is our identity. Our new identity means our joy comes from Jesus. We will never experience true joy by placing it in the world. Who you are determines how you will live. When our bank accounts are low, our homes are small, our phones are outdated, and the debt never shrinks — where do we look for help?

The Way Forward. Many of us think that the more we do then the better off we will be. So, we think that if we give 10% more of our income to our local church or some charity, that our hearts will change. Or we think that if we buy the off-brand cereal rather than the read deal that our hearts will change. We are addicted to doing things because we believe that what we do will prove that we are not as bad as we first thought. But it never gets rid of the weight of guilt crushing our chests, does it?

What we do not need is more “stuff” to do. What we need is to trust Jesus. He loves you. He loves you so much that he gave up all of his riches in order to live as a homeless man and die a criminal’s death so that you might have abundant life. The more we trust Jesus then the more our lives will be transformed. The more our lives are transformed by Jesus then the more our treasure will be Jesus and we will desire him more. Still, you are probably wondering, “How do I trust Jesus?”

Take him at his word. If he promises to take care of you then you can be generous. Be generous because he is generous with you. Generosity for the sake of generosity will not change your heart. We must identify in our lives the things that take precedence over Jesus and rid ourselves of them. The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19) did everything he was supposed to do, but one thing he lacked: his treasure was not in heaven but on earth. In order to follow Jesus the Rich Young Ruler was commanded to give away everything that kept him from devotion to God. If we want to learn to trust Jesus, then we must take him at his word. Only by giving away our treasure will we see that God is faithful and true. Only by giving up our treasure will we find our true treasure.

What do you treasure the most in this life? If you lost it or had to give it away, how would you react? The way you react to losing a treasure will show you where your heart is.