Money, More Money

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
-Matthew 6:24-

You knew we’d get to this issue at some point, right? The god of money has been around a long time. Oh, you used to know him as gold and silver, heads of cattle or animal skins — pretty much anything that could be traded. These days he goes by cash, dough, bacon, benjamins, moolah, bank, and the list goes on. He might even take the form of a plastic card or be a file named “portfolio.”
Money has grown so dominant in our culture that it’s difficult for us to stand far enough back to get a perspective. No matter what we may say, many of us live as if the pursuit of wealth is the real goal in life. Sometimes we hear rich people say things like “Money doesn’t make you happy,” but most of us think they all probably flew first class to some exotic destination where they get together and agreed to say that to make the rest of us feel better.
We pay lip service to the idea that money isn’t very important, but the way we spend our time and the things we pursue reveal our true beliefs. For many, the ultimate fantasy is winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune from some rich relative.
The wisest — and wealthiest — man who ever lived, King Solomon, recognized that “whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). The apostle Paul, who knew what it was like to live both with wealth and in poverty, came to this conclusion: “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). It might surprise you to know that even Jesus spoke a great deal about money. Of the 38 parables He told that are recorded in the Gospels, 16 of them deal with the topic of money.
And He spelled out a pretty succinct bottom line: You cannot serve both God and money.

DENYING TODAY
Have you fallen into the trap of serving the money god? Test yourself with these revealing questions: How often do you compare what you have and how much you make to others? How much anxiety do finances add to your life? To what extent are your dreams and goals driven by money (or lack of it)? What is your attitude toward giving? Maybe today you would consider giving some money away even before someone asks.