Julia Loren

If we live in God’s value system, we begin to learn that love has both emotional expressions and material expressions. Financial prosperity positions us to either hoard up wealth for ourselves and live comfortably in this life or release greater expressions of God’s love toward others. Jesus told one rich young man to give all his wealth away if he wanted to consider himself a follower of Jesus. But the young man chose instead to walk away from following God and retain his wealth in this lifetime—forsaking the true wealth that could have been his (see Matthew 19:16-24). He valued his money over a relationship with Jesus.