When our daughter was born, I was a part-time college student and my total income delivering appliances for my uncle was seven thousand dollars. The first home Karen and I bought was government-funded. Our house payment was based on our income. It was $109 a month, if you can believe it.

We were broke.

And we did a lot of things wrong when we first got married, but there was one thing we did right: we didn't focus too much on money. In fact, despite my tiny paycheck, we started giving to the Lord financially.

We were young and inexperienced, but when it came to money, we had our priorities straight.

Flash forward to a recent experience I had counseling a couple who were experiencing a marriage crisis. They were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They lived in a house worth $10 million. They were two of the most attractive people you have ever seen in your life.

They had everything most of us dream of, but they were absolutely miserable. Because money cannot fill that hole in your heart.

Jesus called this "the deceitfulness of riches" (Matthew 13:22). The deceitfulness of riches makes you think that if you get enough money, it'll solve all your problems.

That's a lie. Once I heard a preacher say, "There is nothing wrong with us having money. There is something wrong with money having us."

That's the truth. Money causes a mild form of insanity. We are willing to give up our health and youth for money so that we can get money to try to get our health and youth back.

But once we get all that money, what do we have? We bring all the wealth home to a relationship where we are too tired to meet each other's needs and too stressed out to enjoy time with our spouse.

Money is a blessing, and we all need it. But money shouldn't cost your reputation, your health, or your marriage. And what that means is that, sometimes, it's better to make less money in order to get your priorities straight.

It might mean working fewer hours. It might mean lowering your standard of living. It might mean traveling less for your job. It might mean downsizing your work life so you can supersize your marriage and family life.

Will it be uncomfortable? Yes, at first. But I'm telling you this: You will be happier once you realize that money won't give you everything you've been looking for. You'll have more time for God, more time for your spouse, and more time for your family.

Jesus said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

Seek God first and he will give you everything else. Once Karen and I learned to seek his kingdom first, God blessed our marriage and provided for us-and we didn't have to sacrifice the integrity of our home at the financial altar.

The two of us did a lot of things wrong in our marriage, but our relationship to money is one of the things we did right.