Many people
have a perverted understanding of what the Bible teaches about money.
Often verses like the one above are taken that God only really loves the
poor, and that there is some sort of holiness in being poor. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Mammon in the Aramaic should be
translated as riches. When the Bible cautions against money it talks
about "riches". In truth it presents two extremes that should be avoided
- being a slave to money, or being a slave to riches. The two extremes
are one of extreme poverty and the other an extreme of extreme GREED.
Both have the potential to destroy the Christian.
Some people seem
to think there is something noble and pure in being poor. Being deep in
debt, struggling to pay bills, failing to support your family is not
honorable nor does it honor God. If your thoughts are always on how to
pay the next bill then who are you serving? You are a slave to the lack
of money. Instead of having the freedom to do God's work, you are
enslaved to money as it controls your life. You are as much a slave to
mammon as is the super wealthy - because its lack dominates your life.
Ecclesiastes 10:19 "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry,
but money answers everything." God knows that humans have an economy. In
fact he takes responsibility for allows Kings and others to be in
charge. Likewise He is well aware of the power money can have in our
lives. For good or bad. Living on any end of the money extreme risks
your relationship with God.
For those who are truly mega-wealthy -
having that much money carries huge risks for the God fearing person.
The rich young ruler couldn't put God before his money, and hence Jesus
said it is harder for a rich man to get in to heaven than an camel to go
through the eye of the needle. Many people leave the passage here and
say - see rich people are unsaveable. But verse 26 goes on - "with men
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" God can save
even the mega-wealthy. 1 Timothy 6:10 highlights that money in and of
itself is not evil but "the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds
of evil." Money is not evil. It is a tool and can be a powerful tool for
God's church. But the love of money or GREED is a sin and is something
the Christian should be aware of. Timothy goes on to say - "command
those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust
in uncertain riches, but in the living God... Let them do good." God
expects there to be rich people in the church. But their money doesn't
make them better than anyone else and they should be using it to "do
good".
Remember money and wealth lasts only for this present age -
millions of dollars mean nothing in the next world - in God's eternal
kingdom. Having money brings freedom - the freedom of time, the freedom
of choice, freedom to help others - thats why you should achieve wealth.
If your poor you are a slave to money and don't have the freedom of
choice, you don't have the spare time and resources to honor God, being
poor limits you. Money should be your servant, not the other way around.
Who are you currently serving?
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