The Greatest Indicator: What Your Money Says About Your Heart

There's a reality we often avoid confronting: nothing reveals the true condition of our hearts quite like money. It's uncomfortable to acknowledge, yet it remains one of the most profound spiritual truths we can embrace. Jesus himself spoke more about money and possessions than about heaven and hell combined. That should arrest our attention.

Why would the Savior of the world spend so much time discussing finances? Because he understood what we often forget—money isn't just currency; it's a mirror reflecting our deepest loves, fears, and priorities.

The Heart Follows the Treasure

Jesus made an extraordinary statement in Matthew 6:21: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Notice the order. He didn't say where your heart is, your treasure will follow. He reversed it. Your heart follows your treasure.

This is counterintuitive to how we typically think. We assume we need to feel passionate about something before we invest in it. We tell ourselves, "When I feel more connected to God's work, I'll give more. When I'm in a better financial position, I'll be generous."

But that's not how spiritual transformation works. When you invest your treasure in something, your heart gravitates toward it. If you want to care deeply about God's kingdom, invest in God's kingdom. Your affections will follow your obedience, not precede it.

Consider this simple illustration: if someone took your wallet and held it during a conversation, you'd pay closer attention to that person than you ever have before. Why? Because they have your treasure, and your heart is immediately drawn to wherever your treasure goes.

The Magnetic Pull of Money

Money is never neutral in Scripture. It always exerts a magnetic pull on our souls, drawing us in one direction or another. It's like a spiritual barometer, revealing what we truly worship.

When our treasure flows only toward worldly things—the house, the car, the vacation, the retirement account—we set ourselves up for perpetual disappointment. Jesus warned that these earthly treasures will rust, decay, and ultimately be taken from us. Someone else will drive your truck. Someone else will live in your house. What you pay top dollar for today will sell for pennies tomorrow.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't have possessions or plan for the future. It means we must ask a more fundamental question: Does Jesus have my finances? Am I in a posture where I can say yes when he calls me to do something with what he's entrusted to me?

How You See Money Shapes Everything

Jesus used the metaphor of the eye and the body to illustrate a profound principle. Just as healthy eyes indicate a healthy body, a healthy heart toward money indicates a healthy spiritual life. What you see as ultimate becomes what you ultimately live for.

If having the right house, the perfect retirement account, or the ideal lifestyle is what you see as ultimate, you'll organize your entire life around achieving those things. But when you see God's kingdom as ultimate, money gets dethroned from its false position of power and becomes what it was always meant to be—a tool, a resource to advance the gospel and bless others.

Sometimes we focus so intently on insignificant things that we miss the glory right in front of us. Imagine driving for hours to see mountains, but when they finally come into view, you're staring at a random metal building on the side of the road and completely miss the moment. That's what happens when money captivates our attention—we miss the magnificent mission of God unfolding around us.

The Master We Cannot Avoid Choosing

"No one can serve two masters," Jesus declared in Matthew 6:24. "You cannot serve God and money."

This isn't a suggestion or a helpful tip for spiritual growth. It's a statement of reality. Everyone will have one master. Not one person will successfully serve two. The question isn't whether you'll have a master; the question is which master you'll serve.

When we serve God with our money, we acknowledge a fundamental truth: everything belongs to him. None of it is ours. We are stewards, not owners. Our highest rank in relation to the money in our bank accounts is that of a manager, entrusted with resources that don't belong to us to use them in ways that honor the true Owner.

But when we serve money as our god, we see it all as ours. We earned it. We deserve it.

We get to decide what to do with it. And money makes a terrible god. It demands constant pursuit of more, controls our emotions, and ultimately enslaves us to serve it rather than the other way around.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Tithing

Malachi 3:8 asks a jarring question: "Will a man rob God?" The answer comes swiftly: "Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions."

The tithe—giving the first and best tenth of all we receive—is how we declare that everything belongs to God. It's not just about the amount; it's about priority and quality. First and best. Not leftovers. Not what remains after we've paid our bills and funded our desires.

Here's the beautiful paradox: when we give God our first and best tenth, the life he pours out on 90% will far exceed the life we create for ourselves on 100%. The math doesn't make sense in human terms, but it's a spiritual reality testified to by countless believers throughout history.

God promises in Malachi 3:10 to "open the windows of heaven" and "pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." He's inviting us into a life we could never budget our way into achieving—a life of supernatural provision that comes through obedience.

The Preeminence of Christ

Ultimately, this isn't just about money. It's about whether Jesus is truly first in our lives. Colossians 1:18 declares that "in everything he might be preeminent"—first, best, supreme.

Jesus didn't just teach about giving; he embodied it. He gave first, and he gave best—the most precious treasure in the universe, his own life. We are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, Peter reminds us.

If Jesus is first and Jesus is best, are we giving to him as if he is first? Are we giving him our first and our best? Or are we offering him our leftovers, the scraps that remain after we've satisfied every other priority?

The Liberation of Generosity

Generosity isn't bondage—it's freedom. When we loosen our grip on money, we discover that it had a grip on us. When we give sacrificially, we find that we're actually receiving abundantly. When we trust God with our finances, we step into the abundant life Jesus promised.

Only about 12% of people in many churches actually tithe—giving the full 10% as a first priority. Many give nothing. Most just tip God occasionally, offering whatever happens to be left over.

But God is calling us to something radically different. He's inviting us to take a step of faith, to trust him with what he's already entrusted to us, to acknowledge that he is the owner and we are simply stewards.

The question before each of us is simple but profound: Will we trust God enough to obey him with our finances? Will we give him our first and our best? Will we allow him to dethrone the idol of money so that he alone can be enthroned in our hearts?

Your answer to these questions will reveal—and shape—the true condition of your heart. Where your treasure goes, your heart will surely follow.