What Consumes You – God or Money?

September 24, 2022

What Consumes You - God or Money?

What Consumes You – God or Money?

By Brooke Holt

“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – Luke 16:13

Whom or what do you serve? It is not an often-asked question for many reasons. Modern people pride themselves on being free, independent, and innovative engineers of their own lives. The idea of serving anyone or anything seems preposterous. Nevertheless, your calendar, bank account, and thought life will quickly inform you as to whom or what you serve. Where do you spend the most time? Where do you spend most of your money? And what consumes your thoughts? The answers to those questions will reveal who or what you serve.

Jesus has been teaching on a perplexing parable of the dishonest manager. He concludes this parable with the choice every person must make – the choice to serve God or to serve money. It is a verse that is often forgotten or dismissed. As people living in the modern world, money is an essential part of life, and God surely wants his people to experience his blessings. However, are those blessings always material? Jesus would challenge us here to consider our concept of the blessed life. People, even Christian people, far too often put their trust in the American dollar. And the irony of that misplaced trust is what is printed on the back of those bills: “In God We Trust”. Trusting God with every aspect of life is the way to the blessed life!

Consider the answers to the questions about your calendar, bank account, and thought life. Do these answers reflect your trust in God? Do your answers reflect a life surrendered to the Lord and focused on building his kingdom? These questions are not asked to invoke guilt or condemnation. Instead, they are for an honest moral inventory. The kind of inventory this parable of Jesus was intended to provoke.

Jesus fully understands you. He knows why you do the things you do, spend your time and money where you do, even why you think what you think. Jesus also knows that far too often his children miss out on living the abundant life he came to bring. And all too often, these children of God settle for climbing the corporate ladder instead of building a business that reflects the glory of God.

Money can consume you or love for God can consume you. That does not mean that God’s people can’t or shouldn’t have money; that clearly is not the case! It means that God calls you to love him and trust in him and not your money. You are designed to serve one master and that is God alone. To be a servant of the Lord is not demeaning in any way. It is the way to truly knowing and living into your value as the beloved child of God. You are royalty, and your inheritance is far greater than you could ever fathom!

Reflection:

God or money? Which will you choose today? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Recommended Resource:

Let's face it, the Christian life is hard. Relationships take work. Christians forget. Sometimes it is tempting to go back to the days when God was not the center of our lives - to backslide. We are all faced with tremendous pressures to drift away from intimacy with Jesus and the community of the Church. However, the Lord invites us to pay attention, to move forward, to draw near, and to live lives of worship. Draw Near: Hebrews on Christian Worship is a small group Bible study on the Book of Hebrews intended to lead participants into a deeper intimacy with the living God in the context of New Testament worship. Draw nearer to God in authentic worship today!