You Cannot Serve God and Money
In Luke 16:10-12, Jesus tells us that he/she that is faithful in that which is least, in unrighteous mammon (material wealth), and in that which is another’s; will also be faithful in much, can be entrusted with true riches, and properly manage his/her own. He wraps up this passage on faithfulness by saying, No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Jesus is still talking about faithfulness.
Your heart will be loyal to one at the forsaking of the other. For a while you can attempt to serve both, and you can even claim allegiance to one (to the better, to the greater, even to God who is the greatest), but the truth will be told. To serve means to put yourself into the role of servant, under someone or something that holds the role of master. A servant is obedient to his/her master and a day will come to prove with whom your heart is loyal. You will have to disobey one in obedience to the other; prove yourself to hate one, in love for the other; despise one, to keep hold of the other. [It] is required of stewards, that a man be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Serving Mammon Looks Like This…
What does serving mammon (material wealth) look like? It’s elevating the lesser over the greater. Your heart, your desires, your thoughts are towards money, riches, wealth. It is your treasure and you commit your life to doing whatever it takes to obtain it, build it, keep it. You make excuses and compromises. Even if the word of God speaks directly to it, you look for a way out or a way around it. You feign ignorance of what you know to be right, twist the scriptures, and/or outright disregard what Jesus says. You say stuff like, “You have to play the game” or “Nobody’s perfect,” or “Everybody (fill in the blank).” You might even say silly stuff like, “The bible talks more about money than salvation. So, it’s obvious God places a high priority on it.” You might even find that you are constantly telling yourself, “I don’t love money. I’m doing this for (fill in the blank)”.
Some people live all their life this way, never seeing the truth: their heart, loyalty, faithfulness, and love, is towards things of this earth instead of God who created them. But they’ll never be enough. Money and things can’t fill a void that only your creator can fill. They can be a deceptive short-term distraction, though. If you are a born-again believer, however, The Spirit of God in you, won’t let you lie to the God you serve. It will tell you and (very definitely) turn your heart back to God.
My Story- A Slow Fade
There was a period of time, after I was born again, that I allowed myself to be slowly pulled into a prosperity gospel. I started to think that our way of thinking was keeping up poor- which really is true in a lot of ways. But I started to look to Think and Grow Rich and a bunch of other teachings about daily affirmations, positive thinking, and declarations. I’d record myself and listen to them, believing it would transform me and open me up to positive possibilities. I would go to sleep listening to the Power of Positive Thinking. One day, I was asked to speak to a group on the principles from Think and Grow Rich and I did. I love teaching so I was excited and gave a good go at it. Not long after, I was sickened at having done that and potentially led others down a potentially dangerous path. I didn’t realize how far I’d stayed. “It’s a slow fade, when black and white turns to gray.”
Serving God Looks Like This…
Serving God looks altogether different. It’s recognizing material wealth as a resource for living in this world and for doing the work of Christ. It means acknowledging God in all your ways and looking to His Word to counsel you in every situation. It means making wise financial decisions that have a sound biblical backing. It means not continuing down a path when you see you’re going the wrong way- even it you could potentially lose financially and even other people think you’re stupid. It’s counting the cost and loss as well worth it, to keep in right relationship with your creator, master, and God. It’s doing what’s right because your heart’s treasure is Christ. At the loss of everything, He is enough.
Conclusion
You cannot serve God and (fill in the blank). Either your heart is faithful towards Him or it’s not.
