“Americanism is using money you haven’t earned to buy things you don’t need to impress people you don’t like.” – Robert Quillen, 1928, Detroit Free Press

Sound familiar? We’ve all heard variations of this quote, yet somehow we keep falling into the same trap. We throw money into what I call “The Money P.I.T.” – and no, I’m not talking about that house that needs endless repairs or the boat you swore would bring you joy (though boat owners, you know what I mean about those two best days!).

We Have a Problem

Let me hit you with some sobering statistics:

  • American households carry $18.2 trillion in debt – that’s $53,000 per person
  • Over 11 million children in America live below the poverty line
  • Over 20 million U.S. adults are problem gamblers
  • Americans spent $264 billion on gambling in 2023 alone
  • Among problem gamblers, suicide rates are 15 times the national average

Our relationship with money isn’t just unhealthy – it’s literally killing us.

Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a rich people problem, a middle-class problem, or a poor person problem. It’s a human problem. I’ve met wealthy individuals who are incredibly generous and poor folks who won’t give you the time of day. I’ve also seen the opposite – poor people who’d give you their last dollar and rich people who won’t spare a dime.

No matter where you fall on the economic spectrum, we can all get trapped in the Money P.I.T.

What Is the Money P.I.T.?

You know you’re in a Money P.I.T. when these three mentalities are at work in your life:

P – Pride

Pride is the chief of all sins because from a prideful heart flows chaos. It’s self-sufficiency taken to the extreme: “Everything I’ve earned, I’ve earned on my own. Why doesn’t everyone just work as hard as I do?”

Pride alienates you from God and others. It makes you judge everyone else by your own standards instead of judging yourself by God’s standards.

I – Individualism

This is what I call the “I-Me-My” syndrome. You have a greater concern for your own needs above everyone else’s. You see the world as a zero-sum game where there isn’t enough for everyone, so you’d better get yours.

Individualism makes you walk by that homeless person without thinking twice, forgetting you might be just a few paychecks away from the same situation.

T – Transactionalism

Everything becomes a system of favors and exchanges. Everyone has their price. You start viewing your relationship with God as transactional: “If I do X, Y, and Z, then God owes me this blessing.”

But God doesn’t play transaction games.

The Rich Young Ruler’s Money P.I.T.

In Mark 10, we meet a man trapped in the Money P.I.T., though he doesn’t know it. He runs up to Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus lists the commandments, and the man proudly responds, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.” There’s the pride – “Look what I’ve accomplished!”

Jesus sees right through to his heart: “You lack one thing. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

The man walked away sad because he had great wealth. His possessions had become his prison.

Notice what Jesus was really asking: Stop being individualistic and invest in your community. Stop viewing this as a transaction where good behavior equals material blessing. Humble yourself and trust me instead of your wealth.

The Way Out

Jesus was trying to lift this man out of the pit, and he offers us the same way out:

Instead of Pride → Embrace Humility “No one is good except God alone.” You can never be good enough to earn God’s blessing. What matters is humbly walking with God.

Instead of Individualism → Focus on Community
It stops being about “me” and becomes about “we.” Sell what you have, give to the poor, invest in your community. Your wealth shouldn’t prevent you from loving God and loving others.

Instead of Transactionalism → Choose Trust “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Trust that if you pursue relationship with God above all else, he’ll take care of you.

You Are Loved

Here’s the beautiful part of this story that often gets overlooked: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Even as Jesus was about to make the hardest demand anyone had ever made of this man, he looked at him with love.

Why? Because Jesus had been there. Jesus gave up the riches of heaven to become poor on earth for our sake. As Paul writes, “Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus never asks us to do something he hasn’t already done first.

Now What?

No matter your socioeconomic status, God loves you. Jesus looks at you with love and simply asks, “Follow me. Trust me. Walk with me.”

This week, take a hard look at your relationship with money:

  • Are you trapped by pride, individualism, or transactionalism?
  • What one financial burden could you work to eliminate?
  • How can you use your resources – whatever they are – to bless others?

Remember: you are blessed to be a blessing. The goal isn’t to accumulate more stuff; it’s to seek first the kingdom of God, trusting that everything else will be added to you.

Don’t let your wallet become your trap. Let Jesus help you out of the Money P.I.T. and into the freedom that comes from trusting God above all else.

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