When Rejection Warps Our Wallet
Rejection wounds us in ways we don’t always see—but it often shows up in how we handle money. In this post, we explore how feeling unseen can drive approval spending, hoarding out of fear, or even reckless generosity. Drawing from Mark 12:10 and the example of Jesus—the stone the builders rejected who became the cornerstone—we’ll reflect on how Christ offers healing, identity, and stability, even in our financial lives. If you’ve ever felt the sting of rejection and noticed its impact on your wallet, this message is for you. Let’s learn to anchor both heart and finances on the Cornerstone who never fails.
CHRISTIAN FINANCEFAITH AND MONEYCHRIST THE CORNERSTONEOVERCOMING REJECTION
6/25/20253 min read
When Rejection Warps Our Wallet: How Feeling Unseen Can Lead to Financial Missteps
Centered on Mark 12:10 – “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Rejection is one of those soul-bruising experiences that sticks with us. Whether it's being passed over for a job, ghosted by someone you cared about, or feeling unseen in a room full of people, rejection wounds us at a deep, often invisible level. And when that pain goes unprocessed, it has a funny way of spilling over into other areas of our life—especially money.
Jesus knew rejection well. He quoted Psalm 118:22 in Mark 12:10, saying: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” That verse was about Him—the Savior who was despised and dismissed yet chosen by God to become the very foundation of salvation. His life reminds us that rejection doesn’t have to be the end of the story. But it can influence the way we live, spend, and strive if we're not anchored in Him.
Here are three ways rejection can twist our relationship with money—and how the truth of Christ, the Cornerstone, can set us straight:
1. Rejection Can Lead to Approval Spending
When we feel rejected, our instinct is to prove our worth—to ourselves and to others. That might look like overspending on clothes, cars, homes, or experiences, just to be seen and validated.
This is the essence of American culture: consumption. Much of it stems from approval spending because we're walking around feeling rejected. We seek acceptance into the “in crowd” and long to be affirmed. That desire often pushes us to spend in ways that inflate our pride and sense of significance, masking our feelings of rejection.
But this isn’t a solution. Jesus faced the same pressures and emotions, yet His validation came from the Father—and ours should too. I don’t believe most people act out of evil or ignorance. Rather, I believe much of it is misplaced hurt and unresolved rejection being carried around, instead of being entrusted to Jesus' arms.
In Galatians 1:10, Paul asks, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” Rejection tempts us to seek the approval of man, often through material means. But in Christ, we are already fully accepted (Ephesians 1:6). The cornerstone of our identity is not in what we wear or own, but in who we belong to.
2. Rejection Can Create a Scarcity Mindset
Some people respond to rejection by hoarding. Feeling like there’s never enough love, affirmation, or opportunity, they turn to money as their safety net and idol. Saving becomes less about stewardship and more about self-protection.
Personally, I struggle with a scarcity mindset more than anything else financially. My difficulty in seeing Jesus as the true source hinders my ability to trust that He is the cornerstone. This is my ongoing battle—to release self-reliance and entrust everything to God.
It’s especially hard to stay focused when you're in the middle of the storm. I have to purposefully focus on Christ as my cornerstone every single day. But I’m grateful for this burden because it keeps me close to God. I can’t trust in myself—my rejection in life led me here. Only Christ can heal. It's an ongoing journey, and I pray this message resonates with someone else, too.
This naturally leads to the next point: generosity. It’s one of the best ways to combat a scarcity mindset—but only when done with the right heart. Giving out of love for God, not fear, helps break the grip of scarcity.
In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” When we trust Christ as our cornerstone, we remember that our security is not in savings alone, but in the One who provides daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
3. Rejection Can Drive Reckless Generosity
Ironically, some people use money to buy love or acceptance—giving recklessly, not out of love, but out of fear of being rejected again. Generosity is beautiful when it flows from a full heart, but it becomes dangerous when it turns into a transaction for approval.
I had a friend like this years ago. He was a big spender with a matching personality. I saw beyond the generosity—he just wanted friendship. I gave generously in return, not because I needed anything, but because I didn’t want him to feel like he had to “buy” our connection. Sadly, he eventually spiraled into things I couldn’t align with, and we drifted apart. The truth is, Jesus was not his cornerstone.
In I Corinthians 13:3, Paul says, “If I give all I possess to the poor… but do not have love, I gain nothing.” True giving flows from love—not from a need to be needed. When Jesus is our cornerstone, we give freely, not fearfully.
Rejection feels final, but in Jesus, it becomes formative. The very one who was rejected became the foundation for everything good and eternal. When we allow Christ to be our cornerstone, He brings stability not just to our faith—but to our finances, our identity, and our decisions.
We don’t need to use money to escape rejection. We need to meet the One who was rejected for us, and in Him, find our eternal acceptance.
Prayer:
Lord, when rejection whispers that I'm not enough, remind me that You were rejected so I could be fully embraced. Be the cornerstone of my heart—and my wallet. Amen.