When Money Becomes Your God

There's probably one thing you couldn't imagine letting go of. This conversation is about what that grip does to us. About this episode Mike Harris looks at the rich young ruler, the man who had kept all the rules and still walked away from Jesus sad because he couldn't let go of his money. It's an honest conversation about the things that get the biggest claim on our time, our trust and our wallets, and why that's rarely the stuff we'd point to in someone else first. Mike, Matt and Ade dig into self-sufficiency, grace, and the freedom that comes from seeing everything you have as a gift rather than something you earned. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and a hello to everyone in Live Lounge 04:58 Elon Musk, the first trillionaire, and what that much money actually looks like 06:30 Mark 10 and the man who comes running to Jesus 09:00 Why Jesus starts with "no one is good" 11:30 The idol hiding behind a good, moral life 14:00 Paul's radical idea of generosity in 2 Corinthians 8 18:00 Loved before the world began, from Ephesians 1 22:34 Conversation Street begins 24:00 Ellis realises he's the rich one 27:00 Ade on self-sufficiency and treating salvation like a purchase 30:00 Job, and learning that everything you have is a gift 35:00 Matt on asking "what's my response?" rather than pointing at the wealthy 40:00 An honest word about the prosperity gospel 45:00 Psalm 118:8 and where we run when things get scary Key references Mark 10:17-22, the rich young ruler (also told in Matthew 19 and Luke 18) 2 Corinthians 8:12-14, giving until there's equality Ephesians 1:4-8, chosen before the world began Psalm 118:8, taking refuge in the Lord Philippians 4:19, God meeting our needs John 3:16, the God who gives The book of Job, via The Bible Project Timothy Keller on the first commandment Quotes from the talk "Jesus had everything, and rather than seek equality, Jesus gave up everything so that we who deserved nothing could have everything He deserved." - Mike Harris "God is not against us being rich, but when we are rich, He wants to know that this is a gift from Him." - Mike Harris "You can't give away your God. So if money is your god, you can't give it away." - Matt Edmundson What this isn't This isn't a message about money being wrong, and it isn't anyone at Crowd asking you to give your money away or to give it to the church. It's a much simpler question than that. Where might God be leading you to be generous this week, with your time, your things or your money? Links Find out more and join the conversation at crowd.church . What's the Story, the Crowd Church podcast where people share their story of faith, is at crowd.church and on all the usual podcast players. Crowd runs an Alpha Course exploring the big questions of faith. The current group is wrapping up, with a new course starting in the new year. Details are on the website. Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.