We Spend Time and Money on What is Less Significant

Consider yesterday’s announcement that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will play a $10-million showdown match Thanksgiving weekend. The two golfing legends will compete against each other in the Las Vegas area on November 23 or 24.

They hope the match starts a series of events of a similar nature, pitting people or teams against one another with a high purse at stake.

Neither needs the money. They lead all active golfers in career earnings (Woods with more than $112 million and Mickelson with more than $87 million). Woods has made an additional $1.4 billionand Mickelson an additional $50 million in endorsements.

I hope the winner donates the $10 million to charity.

Yesterday, Apple became the first publicly listed US company to achieve a $1 trillion stock market valuation. CEO Tim Cook has made significant donations to hurricane relief and other causes and plans to donate his fortune to philanthropic projects. But imagine the impact if his company made a tithe of $100 billion to charity.

Success is more than wealth. In fact, when we measure success by prosperity, three dangerous results follow.

We spend time and money on what is less significant

The jacket worn by Harrison Ford when he played Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back will be auctioned in September. It is expected to sell for $1.3 million.

Imagine the good if the buyer donated that money to feed hungry people instead.

Scripture warns: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10). Solomon, who should know, observed that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1).

We measure spirituality by success

The “health and wealth” gospel is perennially appealing because it cloaks materialism in the veneer of piety. The more we have, the more we must be blessed by God, or so we convince ourselves.

This despite the poverty of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 8:20) and the suffering he predicted for his followers (John 16:33). This despite the biblical warning: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Jesus observed, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). One must serve the other.

We see adversity as an enemy rather than an opportunity

Judges 3 finds Israel in their Promised Land. Here we read this surprising statement: “These are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before” (vv. 1-2). The narrative then lists several pagan nations in the land.

God knew that his people would have to defend their nation, so he left Canaanites in the land to give them an opportunity to learn war. Small conflicts today would prepare them for greater battles tomorrow. “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5).

The Lord also left Canaanites in the land to show Israel her continued need to depend on his protection and provision. God told his people, “I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen’” (Jeremiah 22:21).

Our Father wants us to see temptation as an opportunity to seek his help and experience his victory. He wants us to see suffering as an opportunity to seek his healing and experience his presence. He wants us to see persecution as an opportunity to demonstrate our love for him and experience his strength.

What adversity is your opportunity today?