"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. "Ecclesiastes 5:10

I usually don't think of myself as overly controlled by money. Yet I get uncomfortable when I compare myself against my peers, having subtly bought into the assumption that earnings speak worth and value. To make myself feel better, I chalk it up to the fact that I'm a teacher, which is the equivalent to humanitarian or charity work - practical sainthood, of course.

So maybe I do have a bit of a problem. As much as I say that I'm free from the love of money, I can't help but be obsessed by it at times, in a way that no pay raise ever seems to quench. Scripture is wise to often speak to us using monetary terms, because it is something we all deal with, whether rich or poor.

Perhaps, then, it is for this reason that a statement like this takes on such great significance:

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9