You Must Serve God with Money, Not the Other Way Around - day 11

You Must Serve God with Money,
Not the Other Way Around

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."

A young Christian, full of passion and zeal, once said in his heart, I am going to make a lot of money so I can be a huge help to the kingdom of God. I may not be the one who goes on the missions, but, I can pay for those who will. So, aspiring to great financial gain, he dedicated himself to college and the pursuit of a degree that could make his dream happen. He was very good at what he did and succeeded in landing a good job after graduation. But, something went wrong.

At some point, he stopped wanting to give. While he was a student and working part time, he found giving to be very easy, for the amounts he faithfully gave were not large amounts. Once he began earning larger amounts of money, he found it hard to give in the same manner he once had. The large checks he wrote in the beginning he only did so with great difficulty. Over time, he found that he would much rather keep the money than give it away. After a long journey, he ended up doing exactly the opposite of what he had hoped to do. His generosity had faded into a tight-fisted cheapness; his passionate heart had been burdened down by the worries of the money he earned.

What happened to this man? Jesus taught in Matthew 6:24 that a Christian cannot have two masters. If he tries, he will only truly serve one of his masters, the other he will despise. Specifically, Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and money. In this case, the man stopped serving God and began serving money. At some point, he decided that he would rather have all the money he was earning than serve the God he set out to please. Money is a good thing when used in accordance with God’s will. When we begin to seek out money without submitting its use to God and his word, then we begin to let money be our master.

Many people mistakenly think God is there to help us get wealthy. This is the greatest misunderstanding of who God is. What we need to realize is that God will not be used to make us money; but, money can be used to honor God.

Today’s Generosity Challenge:
Have you ever made a similar statement; “God, if you provide for me in this way, I promise I will serve you this way.” What is the problem with this approach? If this is you, today I want you to write an apology to the Lord. You can journal below. Be specific, and repent.

About Michael Stickler

Mike is an author, radio host, and a highly sought after motivational speaker. His best-selling book, A Journey to Generosity, is widely acclaimed throughout the Christian community. He is the publisher of Generous Living Magazine and writes for the Christian Post, 'A Generous Life' column.