Monday, November 12, 2012

November 13, 2012

“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
 
Perhaps you will find these factoids interesting:
 
* Jesus talked about money more than He did Heaven and Hell combined.
* Jesus talked about money more than anything else except the Kingdom of God.
* 11 of 39 parables talk about money.
* 1 of every 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke talk agout money.

The Word Money is actually used in connection with Jesus (whether He uses the word or it is used in connection with Him) approx 25 times throughout the 4 Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
 
Did Jesus talk about money because it is important or is money important because Jesus talked so much about it?
 
The answer is, "Yes!"
 
When you look at your money it says, "In God we trust" would it be more accurate to say "in money I trust"?
 
Jesus implies in this Scripture that trusting money is your default setting and unless you make a conscious decision and take some deliberate actions, money will be your master. Essentially, unless you reject money and materialism as your god, they will rule your life.
 
What makes money so powerful?
 
The short answer is that it can meet some powerful felt needs in a tangible way. Those needs, two such needs are the need for significance and the need for security. Having money and holding it and knowing you have more stashed away feels good. And the more you have the greater your sense of significance and security.
 
But God is the one who built those needs into you and they are shaped like Him. Money can give you some significance but what amount of money is more significant than God? And there is security in a good savings account and good insurance and a healthy 401K, but any or all of those can be lost overnight. The best you can hope for is a lifetime of significance and security but then what? What happens after that? God can make you secure forever!
 
Money is good, but God is better!
 
It might be a good time to do some honest soul-searching to examine where your trust resides. Is God your Master or is it money?