Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
If we understand worship as “offering extravagant devotion to someone or something” we can readily see that every human being worships something! The Bible teaches that we were created to worship. There is always something, however clearly or unclearly we recognize that something, that orients our values, our decision making and our hearts.
Some ancient cultures worshiped the sun; some worshiped idols made of stone; and some worshiped the invisible God who created all things.
On a more contemporary and personal level, some people today offer extravagant devotion to professional achievement; some to their favorite sports team; some to entertainment; and some worship wealth, or money.
Years ago I read the story of a woman named Henrietta Green. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Mrs. Green built a financial empire through real estate, railroads and the stock market. But even though she was the wealthiest woman in America she became legendary for her miserliness. She borrowed office space from her bank because she refused to rent her own space. She wore the same clothes every day because she didn’t want to spend money on new clothes.
Her frugality extended even to her family. When her young son broke his leg she tried to have him admitted to a free clinic for the poor, and when she was recognized and turned away she tried to treat his injury herself because she loathed spending money on doctors. Eventually, it is believed, her delay in getting proper care for her son resulted in him losing the use of his leg.
When money becomes god it becomes that which is most important to us and that which we worship. And when we worship money we are worshiping a very cruel god indeed.
This is why Jesus said:
“No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”
So what are we to do? Money is part of all of our lives. We need to earn a certain amount of money just to be able to survive in our culture. How do we keep money from becoming our master? How do we keep money from becoming that which we serve?
The writer of the ancient book of Proverbs says:
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
How do we keep money from being that which we worship and serve? We put our money and wealth into the service of God.
To “Honor the Lord with your wealth…” means to worship God with our resources. Throughout the Old Testament the offering of sacrifices was always part of worship. People were commanded to bring animals and grain and offer them to God as an expression of worship. Part of this was so people would understand the nature of sin and the cost of forgiveness; but part of it was also to allow people to acknowledge and celebrate the surpassing value and worth of their God.
In the New Testament, the church no longer offers sacrificial animals for the atonement of sins because Christ became the final and ultimate sacrifice for our sins, but the people of God are still called to express their worship through the offering of material and financial wealth.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians:
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11
Simply put, we honor God with our wealth when we offer it to him in thanksgiving, praise and obedience. And when we honor God with our wealth we are no longer servants of money, but servants of God, and our wealth becomes that which blesses us and others with joy.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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