After we finish school and land our first “real” job, some of us can get hung up on money. I’m not talking about simply earning it and paying the bills, putting gas in the car, and buying groceries. I mean becoming obsessed with acquiring money, to the point of hoarding it. It’s easy to go overboard when we let wealth become our god, but there’s a wiser way to handle it that keeps us from becoming enslaved to it.

Financially aggressive people constantly check the stock market, monitor the performance of international currencies, and buy and sell stocks and bonds to try to beat the market. It’s time-consuming, stressful work involving much self-effort. Some, snared by the fear of not having enough money, even resort to stealing it. This is like running on a hamster’s wheel and getting nowhere, but some are addicted to this type of behavior. “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NIV).

Any kind of addiction—including the financial kind—is painful, but allowing God to take away the craving for money frees us to realize that wealth is simply a tool. Life is more than just money, and God wants us to enjoy life for the rich gift that it is. “For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-24 NKJV). Money is great to have, and there’s nothing wrong with being financially comfortable, but the pursuit of it can hurt us.

God wants to bless our finances, but we block those blessings if we pursue wealth for its own sake. Total prosperity in all aspects of our lives includes financial freedom, and we begin to realize that freedom when we study the Scriptures and realign our attitudes with the Word of God (1 Timothy 6:7-10). He knows we need money, and He’ll send it our way when we remember its ultimate source and purpose (Deuteronomy 8:17, 18).

Bringing in an income can turn our heads and blind us if we let it. Following the nuts and bolts of money management is good, but remembering the real reasons behind why we do this keeps us focused. Saving for the future, staying out of debt, making a budget, and spending less than what we make, are all biblical concepts. God loves us, and we have explicit instructions from Him on how to handle the wealth He gives us.

The world provides distorted messages about wealth, how we should think about it, and how we should handle it. Managing it wisely, instead of letting it control and manage us, is God’s plan. When we follow these biblical guidelines, we see increases in our finances as well as every other aspect of our lives. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We have His promise to us on this