Money can tell you how much you have, but it makes a terrible answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Wealth is a gift to steward, but it was never meant to become our identity. Yet in a culture that often measures success by income, possessions, and financial security, it’s easy to begin defining ourselves by what we have—or what we lack.
Scripture offers a different perspective. In fact, some of Jesus’ most memorable teachings about wealth reveal what happens when possessions become central to a person's identity.
When Wealth Becomes Your Identity
Have you ever noticed how Scripture describes certain wealthy individuals? There's the rich fool, the rich young ruler, and the rich man who lived in luxury while a poor man named Lazarus suffered outside his gate.
We know what these men possessed. We know how they related to their possessions. But we don't know their names.
Perhaps there's something worth considering in that pattern. These men looked to wealth for something it could never ultimately provide: security, significance, and even identity. And in the stories themselves, their possessions became what they were known for.
Consider the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Jesus describes a wealthy man dressed in purple and fine linen who feasted lavishly every day. Outside his gate lay a poor man covered with sores, longing for scraps from the rich man's table.
But Jesus introduces these two individuals with a striking contrast: the poor man has a name, Lazarus. The rich man doesn't.
The world may have known the wealthy man's name while overlooking Lazarus entirely. But in Jesus' telling, that distinction is reversed. Lazarus is known by name, while the other man is identified simply by his wealth.
There's something sobering about that. The rich man possessed the outward markers of earthly significance, but those possessions could not establish his standing before God.
Now consider the rich fool in Luke 12.
Jesus tells the story of a wealthy landowner whose farm produces such an abundant harvest that he runs out of room to store it. He decides to tear down his barns, build larger ones, and enjoy the security he believes his wealth provides.
He tells himself, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry" (Luke 12:19). Again, we never learn his name. We know him simply as the rich fool.
His problem wasn't that his farm succeeded or that he possessed an abundance. Scripture doesn't condemn wealth or enjoying God's provision. His problem was that his possessions had become the foundation of his security.
Notice his language: my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods.
His world had become centered on what he possessed. He had accumulated enough to convince himself that his future was secure. But God tells him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you" (Luke 12:20).
He had plenty of possessions, but they couldn't provide the security he ultimately needed.
Then there's the rich young ruler, whose encounter with Jesus is recorded in Mark 10.
He approaches Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. But when Jesus exposes how his possessions hold his heart captive, the man walks away sorrowful because of his great wealth.
Once again, we remember someone largely by what he possessed.
These accounts don't suggest that wealth itself is the problem or that those who have much cannot faithfully follow Christ. Rather, they reveal the danger of allowing wealth to occupy a place in our hearts that belongs to God alone.
When wealth becomes our identity, it can diminish our understanding of who we truly are.
An Identity That Cannot Be Lost
Our culture constantly invites us to define ourselves through financial categories.
We're wealthy, middle class, homeowners, investors, retirees, or high earners. Or perhaps we define ourselves the other way: struggling, broke, behind, or unsuccessful. But none of those descriptions can bear the weight of telling us who we are.
Money is something God entrusts to us. It was never intended to establish our worth. Scripture offers something infinitely better. Paul writes in Colossians 3:3–4:
"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
Consider those words: Christ is your life.
For those who belong to Him, identity isn't something we have to construct through possessions, accomplishments, income, or social status. We receive it through our relationship with Jesus Christ. And that means the deepest truth about us doesn't rise and fall with our net worth.
Markets can decline. Businesses can fail. Careers can end. Retirement accounts can shrink. And even if our wealth keeps growing for the rest of our lives, we'll eventually leave every dollar behind. But if we belong to Christ, the truest thing about us can never appear on a balance sheet.
Our identity rests in someone far more secure than our financial circumstances.
Steward Your Wealth Without Being Defined by It
None of this means money is unimportant or that we should neglect wise financial decisions. Quite the opposite.
We should manage money wisely, save for the future, invest prudently, provide for our families, enjoy God's provision with gratitude, and give generously to others.
These are meaningful expressions of faithful stewardship. But there's a difference between managing wealth and allowing wealth to define us.
When money becomes the measure of our significance, we're asking it to provide something it was never designed to give. And whether we have a little or a lot, the temptation remains the same: looking to our financial circumstances for our ultimate sense of security and worth.
As John D. Rockefeller Jr. once put it, “The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.”
Wealth can accomplish many worthwhile things. It can provide for our needs, create opportunities, support those we love, and help us serve others. These are gifts worth receiving with gratitude. But wealth makes a poor identity.
To be known by God, to belong to Christ, and to have our lives hidden with Him—that is a treasure no financial loss can touch, and no amount of money could ever buy.
Your financial circumstances may describe part of your life, but they never determine your worth. In Christ, you have an identity that lasts forever.
On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:
- My wife and I are retired and received a $60,000 inheritance, about what we still owe on our 4.25% mortgage. We have less than $100,000 in retirement savings and no separate emergency fund. Should we pay off the mortgage or keep the inheritance liquid?
- My mother is transferring her share of our family farm to my brothers and me, leaving the three of us as equal owners. Should we use an LLC or another structure to manage the property and plan for the next generation?
- If I have $5,000 to give to an organization, is it better to give it outright for current needs or place it in an endowment that provides ongoing income?
Resources Mentioned:
Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources.
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