Text: 1 Timothy 8:613; Philippians 4:1112

Topic: How money can wreak havoc in our lives

• God's Word recognizes the key role money plays in our lives.
• We're going to look at four perils of money.

The first peril of money is a lack of contentment.

• Contentment is an internal disposition.

Illustration: In the first of a series of polls, columnist John Roseman discovered that in contrast to American kids from suburban affluent families, kids in other countries are rarely bored. His second poll revealed that people raised in the forties and fifties rarely complained of boredom as kids. In the third poll, Roseman discovered that people in their had fewer toys as children than their modern counterparts; their answers ranged in number from zero to ten toys.

• Contentment is a learned disposition, and Paul said there are three things we can do to learn it:

Trust Jesus as your Savior.

Make a habit of saying "thank you."

Illustration: When Nicodem's neighbor got a brand new van, instead of getting down on his own car, Nicodem thanked God for it, because although it is older, it runs well.

Stop teasing yourself with things you don't have.

Illustration: Nicodem went to Menard's to get some supplies and was amazed at the number of things he saw while in the store that he felt he had to have.

• When the wealthy man in Jesus' parable asked how he could inherit eternal life and Jesus told him to give everything up, the man walked away, unwilling.

Mark 10

• Jesus will not share priority number one in your life with anything.

1 Timothy 6:10

Illustration: Nicodem read an Ann Landers column containing stupid mistakes that burglars made, consequently framing themselves.

• To keep ourselves from being pierced with griefs, we can do several things:

Get serious about this message, and decide how you can take action.

Identify the black holes in your spending and get rid of them.

Get some budgeting counseling.