This stewardship devotion is offered monthly on the Women of the ELCA website to encourage women in WELCA congregational units, circles, and any small group as they take up an offering while meeting. These devotions vary each month and focus on sharing gifts personally and as a community to support the ministry of Women of the ELCA.
by the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
When I was a child and into my teen years, my family didn’t talk much about money. I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood, with my parents’ student debt and lower-middle-class income a reality as they worked hard at their jobs for entry-level pay. The only time I remember talking about money was when my Dad lamented having to sell his prized baseball cards for less than they were worth to make ends meet.
As I got older, my parents got more established in their careers, and we became solidly middle-class. My brother and I got to do summer activities like dance and swim camp, and we were able to go on one family vacation every year. Still, we were all very intentional about how we used our money. I started working right at the minimum legal working age in my state, and I saved up for a year to afford an iPod (yes, I’m dating myself). I was so proud to have been able to buy that iPod myself. I was still very intentional with money while in graduate school and then seminary because I had to be. Being a student meant expenses like tuition, books, rent, and food. I worked while in school but still used the seminary food bank to cover some meals most weeks.
Once I finally got my first real full-time job, though, I had no idea how to manage money well. As is the case with a lot of people who grew up with fewer financial resources but found themselves having some money later in life, I wanted to have more material possessions than ever before. I fell into some seriously bad purchasing habits and became addicted to online shopping.
If someone came up to me at that time, quoted the Hebrews 13:5 verse, and told me that I was in love with money, I would have laughed. Me? Love money? Of course not! But I did love what money bought me as I clicked the “pay now” button on my computer and phone screens. And I definitely wasn’t content with what I had.
Thank God for the second part of the verse: “…for God has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” God did not leave or forsake me. God helped me see that my unhelpful consumption habits were putting a terrible strain on my finances and causing physical clutter.
And God helped me to start changing my assumptions about material possessions and financial success. I don’t have to buy into what consumer culture tells us success should look like (pun intended!). I can live more intentionally, being aware of how I earn, spend, and share monetary resources.
We all have our own hang-ups when it comes to money and material possessions. Many of us grew up in a society and in families in which talking about money was taboo, and consumer culture tells us every day, multiple times a day, that we need a specific product to feel better, be better, and look better.
Becoming aware of how we think about money and possessions is often the first step to being more intentional about how we use our financial resources. Sometimes writing a money autobiography can help—answering questions regarding how you have thought about money in the past and in the present can help reframe your thinking about money today and in the future.
How is God inviting you to assess your own relationship with money and possessions?
The Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich is a pastor, writer, author, and spiritual director. She serves as Executive Director and Founder of New Breath Spirituality Center, and Adjunct Professor of Christian Spirituality at United Lutheran Seminary. She blogs about minimalism from a Christian perspective at www.christianminimalism.com and her book Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living was released in 2021.
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