Spiritual Gains
Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
Deny – What does Yeshua’s statement mean to you? Do you think of denial in terms of turning away from pointless affluence, seductive pleasures or immoral behavior? Do you think that Yeshua intended us to refuse our own selfish desires in order to submit to God’s higher purposes? Perhaps we gain a deeper understanding of the nature of denial when we apply this instruction to the specific arena of money. Jacques Ellul helps us see this connection when he says, “When God attacks this power [money] that has us in its grip because it has aroused our love, when he tears away a treasure to which we have become attached, he is attacking us. God’s deliverance in not a stroke of a magic wand which leaves us intact, the way we were. It is a rescue of part of ourselves. Consequently we may have the impression , the feeling, of being amputated, diminished. God who is delivering us from the shackles of this power, is also destroying its roots which have taken hold of us.”[1] In other words, the act of denial is an invitation to let God amputate. It isn’t simply refusing to do something we really want to do. It is asking God to cut it out of our hearts.
The Greek verb aparneomai means “to renounce, to disown.” Yeshua reminds us that renouncing other lovers is a requirement of following Him. This is no different than the requirement of the first commandment. YHWH has exclusive right to the love of His children and He will tolerate no rival, even if that rival has roots deep within our own personalities. Exorcism must follow. The fact that Yeshua demands such exclusivity in a Jewish culture is another indication that He is God manifest in the flesh. If this were not the case, His requirement could be nothing but idolatry.
Consider what this means for our world’s preoccupation with money. Money and wealth are not the same. Money is a tool. It is to be used as a tool. That means it has no intrinsic value. It is not something to be enjoyed in itself. It is to be used to bring about those purposes and plans that enrich life and advance the Kingdom. God grants wealth. He grants it to those who are equipped to accomplish His purposes with their abundance. Not all respond appropriately to His gift. The consequences of this rejection will be worked out in the Judgment. Not all are wealthy, but money touches everyone. Whenever we convert money into a goal rather than a tool, we invest value into it and make it into an idol. God intends us to use money, not to collect it. In fact, money has no purpose aside from its use to bring about restoration. That doesn’t mean it is only used for evangelism. That is too limited. Money is a tool that should be used to enhance life. It is life that has value. Money is simply a means to bring life to the full.
Does that mean our objective is to have as much comfort and convenience as money can buy? Of course not. Wherever life suffers from lack of money, we who have the tool need to apply it. Believe me, there are enormous opportunities to enhance life that do not include jet skis and iPods. When those opportunities are fulfilled, then there will be time to think about jet skis.
Let’s consider one simple example. The norms of business often provide commission payments in financial deals. Good business could be defined as doing everything according to the norms – or – we could act on the basis of Kingdom ethics, deny that money is anything more than a tool, and be generous toward others whenever we are able. We can remove the power of money by refusing to allow it to determine our behavior.
Is God amputating a bit of your worldview today? Are you assisting Him in the exorcism of subtle idolatry?
Topical Index: deny, aparneomai, money, Ellul, Matthew 16:24
[1] Jacques Ellul, Money and Power, p. 85.
Hi Skip,
As you know, I like what I’ve read of Jacques Ellul, and you make some very good points.
At the same time, for me there are many dilemmas posed by money in our society.
And many dilemmas are difficult for me to even think my way through.
For example the extremely high cost of raising and educating our children.
It just requires a lot of our time and attention.
When I grew up, college was relatively inexpensive and I always assumed I would have a job.
But in the US, we live in a very different world now, where for many folks jobs are scarce.
And the economic future is gloomy.
I’m fortunate to have a wife that works and job prospects that look very bright at the moment.
Having gone through the experience of being unemployed.
And feeling rather worthless for a long time.
Has taught me how to reduce a lot of my anxiety about money.
And a lot of my “free floating” anxiety as well 🙂
I’m smiling because sometimes I think Yahweh is smiling.
And asking me if I weren’t just making “much ado about nothing” in the first place.
Yes, I face the high cost of college education too. 2 children to go. But think about how much this fact says about our Greek-based worldview. I doubt anyone in the Biblical worldview worried much about college. And not because there were no colleges based on the Greek model of the Renaissance man. They didn’t worry about it because they all knew that education was NOT the objective. Living in relation to God was the objective of life and that does not take a college degree. In fact, I wonder now if our push toward all this education really makes us more attuned to the true objective – living for God. Perhaps we have subtly bought the mythology of the West. What if I said to my children, “You know, living for God is the only thing that really matters and He is able to carry you through to that objective no matter what choices you make about education. So, do you really want to go to a college that pushes you toward a worldview that opposes Him?”
Education is expensive in Holland too. In the past sometimes I worried how I would be able to pay all my bills. But I don’t anymore. God provides in the most curious ways. But never for the far future, only on a day to day basis. Sometimes taxmoney is returned, sometimes I recieve a gift. Always just enough to pay what I have to. So I decide to stop worrying about money. (not about being wise in the way I spend it!)
A nice thought:
aparneomai has to do with a lamb (arnion) in Greek. When you renounce something in Greek, you go back on your word spoken in covenant: the lamb is offered which made it a covenant!
Do we really want to be breakers of the covenant?
Bless you!
In the last line I mean the covenant with the God who sent the Lamb, of course. I DO want to break the covenant with Me, Myself and I (and Money)!