Rick Warren - - Why More Money Won’t Make You Happy (The Bible Explains Why) Part 2

Now, the first law of financial freedom is the one

we have to look at today, because if you don't

get this one, none of the other ones will work

in your life. I can't take you into the principles

of how to invest wisely, how to save, how to

spend wisely, how to budget, all of these principles, until

first you get this first one, which I call the

law of contentment. Now, this is very important because as

long as your yearnings exceed your earnings, you're gonna be

in deep doo-doo. You're gonna be in trouble. You're gonna

have debt. And your entire life, you're gonna be frustrated

with your finances because your yearnings are always going to

exceed your yearnings. And until you learn this principle of contentment,

you're always gonna be frustrated by your money, and you're never,

never gonna have enough, no matter how much you make.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14, 30, let's read this

verse aloud together. It's healthy to be content, but envy

will eat you up. It'll eat you up. He's saying

it's not only financially good for you to be content,

it's actually physically good for for you to live a

contented life. The Bible says a heart at peace gives

life to the body. It is invigorating, it is good

for your health to be at peace, to not always

be under tension, to not always be stressed out, to

not always be worried. He said envy, this desire to

always have more, will eat you up, it will eat

you alive. You see, when it comes to your health,

it's not just what you eat that matters, it's what

eats you. Now, let me make this really clear. God

is not saying you should never have any desire for anything. No, no, no.

That's not what he said. In fact, that's not Christianity,

that's Buddhism. Buddhism. Do you know what Buddhism is? Buddhism says,

the basis of Buddhism is that all suffering is the

result of desire. That all pain is the result of desire.

And the whole goal of Buddhism is to get rid

of human desire. And the goal is if you can

get rid of all your desires, then you'll never have

any more pain. And if you can get rid of

all your desires, then you'll never have any more suffering.

This is the philosophy of the Buddha. And if you

can reach that state where you have absolutely no desires

at all, then you'll have no pain and no suffering.

And that state of no desire is called nirvana. Now,

nirvana does not mean pleasure. It does not mean heaven.

Nirvana means nothingness. That's what it means. It means a

state of nothingness, a state where I have zero desires

so nothing can hurt me. And when I can get

to that state of zero desires, I have entered into

nothingness and I will not suffer. Well, that's nonsense, folks.

It is the exact opposite of what everything in human

behavior teaches us. Everything ever accomplished in life is created

by human desire. Every great city is built because somebody

desired to build a great city. Every great nation is

built because somebody desired to build a great nation. Every

great business is built because somebody desired to build a

great business. Everybody gets married because they desire to get married.

Everybody has kids because they desire to have kids. Everybody

makes money because they desire to make money. Desires are

not wrong. In fact, your desires come from God. We're

not talking about desire being evil. It's the uncontrolled desire.

When a desire is uncontrolled, it becomes a lust. And

when a desire is uncontrolled, it becomes a coveting. And

when you desire something that is not righteously yours, like

I want your wife, that's evil. But desire is not

a negative thing. And nothing can be accomplished unless you

desire to do it. You can't become more like Christ

without desiring to become more like Christ. You can't desire

to be a good person without desiring to be a

good person. So he's not saying desire is bad. He

is saying coveting is bad, which is I've got to

have more, more, more, more, and more of what you've

got instead of what I've got. So never compare. This

is the first key to learning the secret of a

contented life. Why should I never compare? Because comparing always

leads to coveting. Number two. The second secret, key to

the secret of contentment, is enjoy what I have. Too often,

we're so busy going after what else we want that

we don't stop and enjoy what we've already got. Did

you know that God wants you to enjoy life? Not

to just endure it, but to enjoy it. Life was

meant to be enjoyed, not merely endured. A lot of

people think God is some cosmic killjoy that God wants

you to frown through life and never be happy and

never laugh and never have any fun and never enjoy.

Absolutely not. God created it all for your enjoyment. Okay?

God created taste buds and then gave us Cinnabon. God

created eardrums and then gave us music. There is no

single purpose for music except enjoyment. If you believe in evolution,

you have to have no explanation for music because music

is not essential to survival. The only reason it's created

is purely for enjoyment. It has no survival capabilities to it.

It is simply God's way of expressing emotion and every

emotion can be created through music and God gave it

to us because God is an emotional God. And God

gave us skin that can feel touch and can experience pleasure.

And God gave us eyes and he created a world

with color. He could have made it all black and white.

It is all for our enjoyment. Sunrises and sunsets and

beauty is for our enjoyment. God did this for our benefit.

Now the fact is God enjoys watching you enjoy what

he's given you. Now any parent understands this. I enjoy

giving gifts to my kids and then I enjoy watching

my kids enjoy what I gave them. That's kind of obvious.

God enjoys giving stuff to you because he's a generous

God and then watching you enjoy what he's given you.

So God says, in fact, the Bible says in Timothy,

everything on earth was given for our enjoyment. That's the

kind of God we have, that we serve. It's for

our enjoyment. But here's the problem. We're so busy getting more,

we don't enjoy what we've got. Ecclesiastes 5.19. If God

gives a man wealth, if God gives a man wealth

and property, he should be grateful. and enjoy what he has.

It is a gift from God. That is a command.

You are commanded to enjoy what God gives you. You

need to pay more attention to what you do have.

You need to open your eyes. You need to appreciate

what God has already given you. You need to be

grateful for it. You need to enjoy what you've got.

Today I've got a quick note from a listener in Minneapolis.

His name is Bill. And Bill wrote to me, Rick,

I want to let you know that I prayed with

you this morning accepting God into my life.

Wow, that's great.

Daily Hope has become the way that I start each

day listening to your podcast. So much has changed in

my life over the past year. I had a job loss.

I had a transition. I had a divorce. My dad

passed away. Cancer and my faith all in the same year.

I'm so thankful for all that you do. Well, Bill,

I want to tell you, I know you've been going

through some really tough times this past year, but there's

no greater news than hearing that you've accepted Jesus into

your life and the fact that God used the Daily

Hope podcast to lead you to him is such a blessing.

I want you to know that as you continue to

study God's word every day, you're going to find that

your faith is growing and you'll see God actively working

in your life. I really am as excited today to

think about what the next year is going to bring.

Year two in your life will be very different than

the last year. And to the rest of you, all

of our Daily Hope listeners, I just want to thank

you because we're able to provide the Daily Hope podcast

to people like Bill because of your generous support.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you for helping us share the good news all

around the world. We love you.

And imagine what it's going to be to get to

heaven and see all these people who came to know

Christ because of your giving. God bless you.

You can join us in bringing hope to others. Just

scan the QR code or go to dailyhopetv.com. You see,

most of us get into this, what I call, when

and then thinking. When and then. When this happens, then

I'll be happy. When I get a boyfriend, then I'll

be happy. When I get married, then I'll be happy.

When I have kids, then I'll be happy. When my

kids go off to school, then I'll be happy. When

I get married again, then I'll be happy. And on

and on and on. It's the when and then thinking. Listen,

you are as happy as you choose to be. Happiness

is a choice. And if you're not happy now, you're

not gonna be happy later. You are as happy as

you choose to be. I could take you to some

of the worst places in the world and show you

two people living right next door to each other and

one is miserable and one's happy. Why? Happiness has nothing

to do with your circumstances. It has everything to do

with your attitude. You are as happy as you choose

to be. And if you're not happy living on what

you're living on right now, I can guarantee you, you're

not gonna be happy with any more. Because you're always

going to want a little bit more. Happiness is a choice.

Happiness is something you choose to do. And it doesn't

cost anything to be happy. Friday was Grandparents Day at

Stony Brook Christian Schools. And two of my grandkids, Kaylee

and Cassidy, in kindergarten and second grade, So Kay and

I went to Grandparents' Day and you go and you

sit down at these little tables with these little chairs

where you got one cheek on the chair. And you

color and you play and we had a lot of fun.

And then we came to my favorite part of school

which was recess. And so Kaylee and Cassidy and I

went out onto the field at recess, and we started playing,

you know, red light, green light, where, you know, there's

a fence which is safe, and you turn around and

you say, you know, green light, green light, green light,

and you're walking, and as you further get away, they're

coming to see how close you can get. And then

you say, red light, and you turn around, and they've

got to get back to the fence before you can

tag them. So I'm playing this with my granddaughters, and

after about three times, I got 50, 100 kids out

there playing red light, green light with Pastor Rick. And

so I'm walking across the field going green light, green light,

green light, red light, and 100 kids are screaming running back,

and I'm chasing them back. and we're having a good time,

we're doing this, and then I turn them into a

conga line.

I'm having fun, my granddaughters are having fun, the kids

are having fun, all of the parents are having fun

videotaping Pastor Rick look like an idiot, you know, the

teachers are having fun because they're, you know, the kids

are having a great time. You know how much that

cost me?

Zero.

And I didn't need a video game. I didn't need

to take him to Disneyland. I was just having fun

with him. Kaylee turns around to all the classmates and says,

wherever Papa goes, he starts a party. Just being grateful

in the situation you're in, enjoying the day you've got.

I mean, really, would doubling your income double your joy?

Absolutely not. I probably know a dozen billionaires Maybe more,

maybe 20. I could bring any one of them in

here and they'd tell you this. Money is a tool.

Money can make your life easier, but money will ultimately

not satisfy your life. Because no matter how much you've got,

when you can finally afford to buy everything you want,

that still won't make you happy. Happiness cannot be bought.

It's internal. Happiness is a choice. Now, We always think,

I don't have enough. I don't have enough. I don't

have enough. There's two ways to have enough. One's hard

and one's easy. Here's how you have enough. Work more

or want less. That's your choice. You could work more

or you can want less. Now, 1 Timothy 6 says this,

verse 17. Command those who are rich in this present world. Now,

let me just stop right there. That's you. Let me

put this in perspective. If you have any coins in

your pocket, any, a few pennies, nickels, any coins in

your pocket or your purse, if you have any coins

in a little tray in your car, if you have

any coins in a saucer at home, you're already wealthier

than about 78% of the world. If you have a refrigerator,

you're like in the top 5%. You're wealthy. So get

over it. You're wealthy.

You're rich.

You're rich. Now he says this, command those who are

rich in this present world to not be arrogant, nor

to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,

but to put their hope in God, who richly provides

us with everything for our, notice, enjoyment. Now I didn't

have time to put this other verse on your outline,

so look up here on the screen. The next verse,

verse 18, says this. Tell them to use their money

to do good, He's talking about to rich people. They

should be rich in good works and should give generously

to those in need, always being ready to share with

others whatever God has given them. Question. Is it possible

to be wealthy and not materialistic? Yes. Yes, it is.

It is possible to be wealthy and not materialistic. As

long as you meet these four preconditions in 1 Timothy 6, 17,

and 18. He says, as long as you don't become

proud of your wealth, you don't flaunt it, you don't

think you're better than anybody else. We always laugh about

how I wear this watch that I paid 17 bucks

for it at Walmart. You know what? It ticks just

as fast as your Rolex. I buy watches to tell time,

not to go.

Okay?

He said, don't show off. Don't become proud of your wealth.

Don't think you're better than somebody. Don't put your hope

in money because you can lose it. He says, use

your money to do good. And then he says, share

it with others. Giving is the antidote to materialism. People say, oh,

I'm not materialistic. Well, how generous are you? You know

one of the signs of materialism, it's not the only sign,

but one of the signs that I'm materialistic, I get

irritated if somebody starts talking about tithing. That's a sign

I'm materialistic. Because the reason I don't tithe is there's

just things I'm not willing to do without. There's a

word for that, materialism. I'm not willing to do without

these things. In fact, God doesn't need my money. The

reason he asked me to tithe is to teach me

to break the grip of materialism in my life. God

doesn't need my money. He does it for me to

break the grip of materialism. And number three, third way

to learn the secret of contentment. Remember, life is not

about things. I gotta maintain the right perspective about possessions

or I'll be possessed by my possessions. I gotta realize

none of it's gonna last. Otherwise, I'm gonna be dissatisfied

and discontent. Jesus says this in Luke 12, verse 15.

Luke 12:15

Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed

because your true life is not made up of the

things you own, no matter how rich you may be.

I've said this so many times. Never judge your self-worth

by your net worth. Never think your value is related

to your valuables. Realize that the greatest things in life

aren't things. He said, life is not about the acquisition

of things. I didn't bring anything into the world. I'm

not taking anything out of the world. And the stupidest

use of my life is to spend it building a pile.

That's dumb. To acquire. Life is not about acquisition. Life

is not about achievement. Life is about relationship. It's learning

how to love. Learning how to love God. Learning how

to love other people. Everybody knows the prayer of Jabez. God,

enlarge my borders. But the prayer of Agur is just

as important. A-G-U-R. That's his name. Prayer of Agur. Proverbs

30 says this. Oh God, I ask you for two things.

Two things from you before I die. First, Help me

to never tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty

nor riches. Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

For if I grow rich, I might deny you and say,

you know, who needs the Lord?

Who's the Lord?

And if I'm too poor, I may steal and thus

insult God's holy name. Now, this is what I call healthy,

balanced perspective on wealth. Most people are willing to pray

the first half of this prayer. God, don't make me

too poor. Well, I'll pray that one. God, don't make

me too poor. Are you willing to pray the other half? God,

don't make me too rich. Because either extreme can cause

you to forget God. Wealth can make you prideful. Who

needs God? And poverty can make you bitter. It's finally

number four. I focus on what will last forever. I

give my attention to permanent values. I build my life

on eternal priorities. I focus on what will last forever.

And nothing you see is going to last forever. It's

going to rust out, wear out, decay. Every possession is temporary.

So don't build your life on possessing possessions. This building

will one day decay, rust, and fall over. The trees

out here will one day die and shrivel. Everything is

going to vanish. In fact, the Bible says one day

there'll be a new heaven, a new earth. It's all

going away. There are only two things that are going

to last forever, the word of God and people. The

word of God is gonna last forever. The Bible says

heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will

never pass away. The Bible says the grass withers, the

flower fades, but the word of God abides forever. This

is why you need to read this book, because if

it's true, it was a true 1,000 years ago, and

it'll be true a million years from today. Truth does

not change. Oh, and there's one other thing that's gonna

last forever, people, one of two places. heaven or hell.

You say, Rick, you believe in heaven? No, of course

I do.

Why?

Because Jesus said it's real and Jesus is not a liar.

And he knows more about it than you or me.

And if there is no heaven or hell, then Jesus

coming and dying on the cross so you could go

there is a total waste. There is a real heaven.

There is a real hell. And we are to invest

our lives in people and building relationships and building love

with them. Second Corinthians four, we fix our attention. Circle that.

That means focus. Focus on what's gonna last forever. We

fix our attention, not on the things that are seen,

but the things that are unseen. Because what can be

seen only lasts for a little while, a time. But

what can't be seen will last forever. So you gotta decide.

Am I gonna build my life on acquisition of things

or relationships with people? Am I gonna focus on people

or am I gonna focus on possessions? Am I gonna

focus on riches or am I gonna focus on relationships? See,

you got a choice to make and that is where

are you gonna get your lifestyle? Because the world is

telling you the exact opposite of everything I've taught you today.

Everything in the world, in fact, an entire advertising industry

is built on the idea of you gotta get more

to be more happy, more successful, more important, more valuable,

more secure. So you gotta decide, am I gonna listen

to Madison Avenue or am I gonna listen to the master?

Am I gonna listen to culture or am I gonna

listen to Christ? Am I gonna listen to the world

or am I gonna listen to the word? One will

make you dissatisfied the rest of your life. One will

make you happy. Before we can move to these other

laws of financial freedom, you gotta settle this issue of

the law of contentment in your life. And you have

to ask yourself, what is the primary purpose of my life?

To just get more? You gotta be kidding me. I'm

leaving it all here anyway. What do I think about,

talk about, give my most to? What am I living

my life for? Just to get more? There was a

very famous quote Woman millionaire in Orange County died many

years ago. And at the funeral, somebody said, she took

her life, she committed suicide. Somebody at the funeral said,

I don't understand it. She had so much to live for.

And I thought, no, wrong. She had so much to

live on. She had nothing to live for. You may

have a lot to live on. Do you have anything

to live for? Do you have a relationship with God?

You see, I invite you to get off the treadmill

today and adopt God's value system. You see, the myth

of the world is you can have it all. The

truth is, you can't have it all, and more important,

you don't need it all to be happy. You don't.

You're as happy as you choose to be. And the

secret of contentment, if you don't get anything else, get this,

the secret of contentment is finding my security and my

self and my satisfaction not in what I have, but

in whose I am, who I belong to. You find

it in Christ. Closing verse on the screen, Psalm 17.

But as for me, in other words, as opposed to

all those who are buying into the Madison Avenue shtick,

but as for me, my contentment is not in wealth,

but in seeing you and knowing all is wealth. Between us,

you and me, God, that's where my satisfaction, that's where

my contentment comes from, being in tune with my creator.

And when I awake in heaven one day, I will

be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.

Let's bow our heads. Are you suffering from the effects

of always wanting more? What are those effects again? Well,

you're tired all the time. You're in debt. You have

added expenses. You worry about your finances. You have conflict

over money. You are dissatisfied and you are envious of

what others have. These are the signs that you have

not learned the law of contentment. Would you pray this

prayer in your heart? dear God I have been fooled

into thinking that having more would make me more happy

and God I've been so busy trying to get more

that I've had no time to be grateful and enjoy

what I already have and you have given me so

much forgive me for comparing myself to others forgive me

for coveting and comparing Help me to find my security

in you, not in possessions, and not in what other

people think about me. I don't want to be materialistic.

I want to be generous with others. And to help

me remember that life is not about things, I want

to develop the habit of tithing to you. Most of all, Lord,

I want to find my security and myself and my

satisfaction in you, Jesus. My finances are out of control

and I need a life manager. Jesus Christ, become the

manager of my life. Guide me in this area and

in every other area. I want to learn to love

and trust you in your name. Amen.