A million euros… who wouldn’t want that? Or even more money, so you can buy anything you want. You often hear it said around you or maybe you say it yourself: ‘Money does not make you happy, but it does make your life easier’.
Every day I’m preoccupied with money. When I go to the supermarket to buy something or when I get a notification on my phone that money has been withdrawn from my bank account. Sometimes I catch myself being too focused on money and wanting more and more. We actually see this happening all over the world. We want more and more money, better gadgets, more luxurious vacations, etc.
Letting yourself be led by money
In itself it is not wrong to have a lot of money, but we do create a problem when we let ourselves be guided by money. Our behavior over the past centuries has made the financial system unsustainable. Economies have become interconnected worldwide. If something happens in the economic chain, one country after another experiences the consequences.
The financial system is becoming so complex that its reliability and therefore its credibility is being questioned by many people. The economic system depends on one aspect: trust. As long as governments, large corporations and banks continue to trust each other then things will go well.
Focused on ourselves
My thoughts then turn to the Bible book of Revelation. In it there is a chapter that deals with the fall of the city of Babylon. This is a picture of the global economic system. There is a lot of trade going on and many traders have become wealthy because of that city. To the eye of the people, the world economy looks very dazzling. But then all the fame and honor collapses like a pudding and all the wealth on which our security was built is gone! And that within ONE HOUR! What an incredible bummer.
It is up to us to choose: do we choose temporary pleasure with a disastrous outcome or do we choose eternal life with Jesus?
