The Limits of Security: What Money Cannot Buy
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” — Matthew 6:19-20
The current economy can be confusing because two things seem true at once. The stock market keeps going up, but people feel less confident than ever. Economists mention strong job numbers, yet many families feel like they are falling behind. Grocery bills are high, insurance costs keep rising, young people struggle to afford homes, and many older adults worry about retirement. This isn’t a mistake. The system was built this way.
The stock market and the real economy have become separate worlds. The market rewards things like speculation and concentrating wealth, while the real economy is where people buy food, raise kids, and plan for the future. These two no longer move together. When a company lays off workers to make shareholders happy, the stock price rises, but families have to cut back. Both things are real, they just affect different people.
So if you feel anxious even when you hear ‘good news,’ you are not confused. You are noticing something real. The economy has changed, and the old promises about security do not hold up anymore. The statistics show one picture, but people’s real lives tell another.
An old story from the Desert Fathers comes to mind…
A visitor came to Abba Agathon, one of the early Christian monks, and said, “I hear you are proud.”
“That is true,” Agathon replied.
“I hear you are vain.”
“That is true.”
The visitor kept listing faults, and Agathon calmly agreed with each one.
Finally the visitor said, “I hear you are a heretic.”
But this time, Agathon disagreed.
“No,” he said. “That is not true.”
The visitor was confused. “Why did you accept all the other accusations but reject that one?”
Agathon answered, “The others separate me from myself. Heresy separates me from God.”
I think many people today might find that answer hard to understand. Our culture often treats financial stability as the most important kind of security. We spend years building careers, saving money, investing, and planning for retirement. Much of our lives are shaped by the hope that careful planning will keep us safe from uncertainty.
There’s nothing wrong with planning ahead. It’s wise to save money, pay down debt, and act responsibly. Spiritual traditions have never encouraged being reckless. But they do raise a question that many of us would rather not face: What happens when the things we depend on begin to wobble?
The stock market can go up, but our anxiety can rise too. Retirement accounts can grow, and someone might still feel more afraid. Even a bigger paycheck can come with a stronger sense of insecurity. These are common but curious reactions. If money really brings security, why do so many people who have more than past generations still feel afraid?
Jesus spoke to this tension. When he tells people not to store up treasures on earth, he isn’t saying wealth is bad. He’s warning us not to get confused. He wants us to see that resources aren’t the same as real security.
Money can buy a home, but it cannot create sanctuary.
Money can purchase comfort, but it cannot produce peace.
Money can fund treatment, but it cannot prevent mortality.
Money can increase options, but it cannot tell us who we are.
Money can reduce certain risks, but it cannot remove uncertainty from human life.
Modern society tells us that uncertainty is something we should fix. If we just work hard, save, invest wisely, and make good choices, we’ll finally be safe. But life doesn’t work that way. Markets go up and down. Governments change. Industries vanish. Storms happen. We get older. Relationships end. History can disrupt our plans.
As I get older, I think spiritual maturity isn’t about getting rid of uncertainty, but about learning how to live well with it.
The Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön once wrote that we spend much of our lives trying to find “ground beneath our feet,” only to discover that uncertainty was never the problem. Our resistance to uncertainty was the problem.
There's an old Yorùbá saying: "The earth is not a inheritance from our ancestors, but a loan from our children." What if our economic anxiety is partly the weight of knowing we've spent principal we were meant to hold in trust? Now we hold guilt and grief. And grief, when metabolized in community, becomes compost for new ways of living.
The mystics understood this. The prophets understood this. Jesus certainly understood it. They didn’t find a way to avoid uncertainty. Instead, they found something deeper to rely on. They grounded themselves in community, prayer, generosity, purpose, service, and love. They invested in things that could last through market crashes, political turmoil, sickness, aging, and loss.
Maybe that’s why today’s economic anxiety feels so revealing on a spiritual level. It shows us where we’ve put our trust.
Some of what we're feeling is about money. Some of it is grief: grief for promises that didn't hold, for parents who followed the rules and still struggled, for children facing climates and economies we helped break. Some is just exhaustion. Some comes from realizing that many promises about security were never completely true.
This isn’t an invitation to stop saving money or planning for the future. It’s an invitation to remember that the deepest kinds of security have never been things money could buy: Love. Friendship. Meaning. Integrity. Faith. The ability to stay present even when life is uncertain.
These are treasures of a different kind.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
When you feel anxious about money, what are you most afraid of losing?
What forms of security have proven most reliable in your own life during difficult seasons?
If someone looked at your calendar, bank account, and daily habits, where would they conclude you have placed your trust?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Things Money Cannot Buy
God, We live in a world that tells us security can be purchased. We are taught to build bigger accounts, stronger portfolios, and safer futures. Yet many of us still carry anxiety about what tomorrow may bring. Help us distinguish between resources and trust. Teach us to be responsible without becoming consumed by fear. When uncertainty arrives, remind us that our lives are worth more than our productivity, our savings, or our possessions. Root us in friendships that sustain us, communities that support us, work that gives us purpose, and a love that cannot be measured by markets or economic forecasts. Give us the courage to live generously, even when we feel vulnerable. And when the future feels uncertain, help us remember that we belong to something larger than our fears. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Taking Inventory
Today, spend fifteen minutes taking inventory of the forms of wealth that do not appear on a financial statement.
Make a list.
Who are the people you can call when life falls apart?
What communities would show up for you in a crisis?
What skills have you developed that no market fluctuation can take away?
What experiences have shaped your character?
What relationships give your life meaning?
What practices help you remain grounded when the world feels unstable?
When you finish, sit and review the list. Notice how many of the things that matter most cannot be bought, traded, inherited, or invested. Then offer a simple prayer of gratitude for these treasures.
The market may rise and fall. These are the forms of wealth that endure.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
June 2, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are starting our next book, The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
June 11, 18, 24, 2026, 12:30pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman on The Commons for a three-part series on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” series. Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During these sessions, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
June 8, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
June 8, 2026, 12pm ET - My friends at the Franciscan Federation are launching a new online community called “The Piazza.” This is a place for all Franciscan-hearted people to gather, connect with one another and build community together. They are launching the community on June 8. I hope you can be a part of their launch event. I will be there, for sure!
June 20, 2026 – ONLINE EVENT – Margaret Wheatley and Mary Daniels will lead a special three-hour online gathering titled Fierce Compassion: The Power of the Sacred Feminine. In a time marked by fragmentation, fear, and exhaustion, this program explores compassion not as passive kindness, but as a courageous force that protects life, tells the truth, and remains deeply rooted in love. Drawing from spiritual traditions, contemplative practice, and the imagery of fierce feminine wisdom figures such as Kali and Durga, they will reflect on what it means to stay human and spiritually grounded in difficult times. LEARN MORE + REGISTER.
JULY 12, 2026, 8AM–8PM ET in NYC - My friend Monika Son is helping lead a powerful Buddhist-led, interfaith pilgrimage across New York City titled “Day of Remembering Our Interdependence.” Inspired by the Buddhist monks’ 2,300-mile Walk for Peace and grounded in the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, participants will gather for walking meditation, prayer, chanting, ceremony, and collective reflection across all five boroughs, including stops at the African Burial Ground and the Metropolitan Detention Center where ICE detainees are being held. The day will culminate in a joyful community gathering in Queens with music, poetry, movement, and food. Participants are welcome to join for the full pilgrimage or any portion of the day. LEARN MORE HERE.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.