Money: the silent idol

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. YOU CAN NOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MONEY” (Mat 6:24 emphasis mine).

It is early morning and I should be getting ready for work but I am not. My thoughts have been stirred into a direction as a result of talking to a friend via text messaging. One reference to how he could not get help at a hospital until he showed money and the Holy Spirit took hold of my thoughts. The statement that He placed in me was simple but yet a great awakening to me. He said “money has become our god”. Suddenly from there my thoughts raced with how money really does control all of us. Whether we dare acknowledge or not, in one way or another we all worship money. The way we value money and hunger after it is scary, a value and hunger that we should be having for the One true God yet we don’t. I think of my own life how money has kept me from ministry, worrying of how I will be able to live and take care of my family if I go into ministry. If I have to put it in another way, how I had put my trust in money to get my security in ministry, instead of putting my trust in God, and He being my security.

I think of how I have thought so little of myself since at my age I have nothing to show, because the money I receive is so little and yet  neglected almost completely how God has been changing me to be a better person from the inside out. My self-worth has not been coming from who I am in Christ but from the amount of money I have. I think of all the things we do for money, how so often our jobs that pay us come first and God second or third at times, or even lower in our priorities. Many people, if not all never have a problem to wake up to go to work and there is such an urgency to get there with a real fear of being fired and losing that income. Yet come Sunday, there is no such urgency at all for God and no fear that they could miss out on an opportunity to experience God. The same is sadly to when we approach quiet times with God, it is never with the same tenacity as we do our employment. This says a lot of what we say and think of our God! All this only shows that money has dethroned God in our lives. Many children learn about money way before they learn about God. I can’t help but let out a sigh because my eyes have been opened and I too, see how I worship money in one way or another. I am just as guilty as anybody else reading this book and I need to repent of this. You see, the worship of money is not so forth-coming but rather so subtle that many a time it goes completely undetected.

As I take it all in, the words of Jesus come flowing to mind “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. YOU CAN NOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MONEY” (Mat 6:24 emphasis mine). I can’t help but think how lightly we take these words, how we read over them like they have no weight towards our lives. The worship of money is far more reaching than we dare to admit and so subtle that for many of us, we are completely ignorant of it. In fact many would disagree to be worshipping money. But that is ok, for it is not my duty to convict anyone that is the Holy Spirits’ job (John 16:8-11). Yet as for me, I find myself convicted as I mentioned before.  The words that keep ringing in my mind are found in the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me, you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in Heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” (Deut 5:7-9). Money has a strong hold over us, even us Christians. I just read about a pastor who has now been stripped of his position. The temptation to judge him and misrepresenting Christianity was there, but… But how can I, and how can we? Aren’t many of us in the same boat with the only difference being that our compromise for making money is more important than God not publicized in the daily newspaper? Or are we merely too proud to see our own sin and need to be reminded as those who brought the woman caught in adultery “if any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). I know what the pastor did was wrong and he is being disciplined for it, yet are we any different? Or is it because we do it at a small scale that we don’t consider what we are doing as bad as the pastor? Double standards come to mind, and we have been through that already. I know I have digressed slightly yet I had to in order to make that which the Lord has laid on my heart stick. We as Christians ought not to serve two masters, yet we do and forget that we will be devoted to one more than we are to the other. Money demands devotion, whether we see it like that or not, it does. Money calls for worship, and easily becomes lord over our lives that God takes second place. Just ask yourself how many times have you put your job before your God? How many times has your pursuit for money made you compromise your faith? How many times have you served money so faithfully (whether directly or indirectly) and not God? How many times have you forgotten to even spend time with God because you were just too busy? It is funny frightening actually because we seem more devoted to the created thing rather than the Creator.

Let us humble ourselves and be honest before the Lord for He knows already. We have broken God’s commandment to have no other god’s but Him. Our trust that money is the answer and solution to life is more than our trust that God is able to take care of us. Churches today focus so much on possessions and wealth, that dare I say, we have services that are so money worship centered than God centered; they are more about wealth and about the heart of God, that they are about looking good outside and remaining dirty from the inside. As I write this I am gripped with fear at the realization of what I have just said. Suddenly I realize that these are not my own words but the Spirit of God letting me know of how far we have fallen short, and how we have broken the greatest commandment. Jesus said “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Mat 22:37). Yet do we love the Lord our God in such a manner? Or are we busy worshipping all other god’s like ourselves and money? Is our pursuit sincerely the love and devotion to God or merely the comforts and status of this world? Or is God right now recalling Paul’s words “for I have walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship” (Acts 17:23) and now like Paul, God is “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16. Or bringing it closer to home, God is greatly distressed to see that the Church is full of idols.

I can’t help but think of the early church and the message they spoke forth. I can’t help but compare their message and the one that is coming out today. Money, possessions, comfort was not a message they preached and the blessings where spiritual blessings, yet today what do we hear? What is the core of our message? I read Acts which gives a picture of the early Church; “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). I think of those called to be pastor and how much emphasis they put on worldly things. Did they arrive in chariots to their congregations, I say chariots because only the important people were arriving in such style. Our equivalent would be the Benz’s and all the popular cars of today that imply status and possession. Were they dressed in fine clothing that even many of the congregation could not themselves afford? Did they stand out or just look like everybody else until the time when they had to speak? And where they calling the congregation to tithe that the Lord would bless them with double portion? Did they care how many number they had in church and was it all about the money?

All these questions flood my mind and I can help but say no. I can’t help but see that they followed what Christ had told them earlier, “As you go, preach this message: the kingdom of God is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep” (Mat 10:7-10). It was not about the money or the comfort, it was about the message. Conviction grows in me as I see how the things of this world that have their root in money have had me living for two idols, myself being one and the other being money. I also see how we Christians are trapped in this place where our focus has seized to be Christ but ourselves. The disciples followed Christ’s example and that is why they lived such an extraordinary life.

I recall the story of Peter and the beggar which shows the focus and obedience they had not for themselves or to money. “Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called beautiful, where he was put everyday to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said “look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said “silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you”. In the Name of Jesus Christ walk.” (Acts 3:2-6). Peter and John had no money, no silver or gold like Jesus had told them to go. But what they had, which was Christ, they gave freely. I must agree we do the first part of Jesus’ instruction well or at least we try to. We preach the message somewhat, we heal the sick, cleanse people, cast out demons and even the raising of the dead. But the part we struggle the most is the next part which is do not take along any money. In other words let not money be the focus of what you are doing but on high. I think of why Jesus could have told them this!! Why go empty handed? The answer soon becomes clear to me, even in that time, the worship of money and the dependence of money was just as great as today, and by Christ calling them to leave the money behind, in essence was telling them to rely on God completely and nothing else or anyone else.

My past comes to haunt me as I recall why I left ministry many years ago. Pride and the desire for worldly things (in other words the hunger and need for money: the worship of money) led me to quit on what the Lord had called me and made me unfaithful to Him, only doing what I want. As I find myself sulking on my failure I hear the words, the famous words ring like Church bells used to ring, Dare to be Different! Dare to be Different… I sit back on my chair and think about these words. Dare to be different. My mind can’t help but think about the greatest commandment. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love is not dependent on what I receive from someone but what I have to give. Therefore loving the Lord with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind is all about me loving God whether He blesses me or not but rather faithfully loving God whether He blesses me or not. It means that I need to remain faithful and trust Him alone with or without money. I recall Paul’s words at this time, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for who’s sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law (or worldly desires) but that which is through Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Phil 3:8-9 emphasis and addition mine) and “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty, I have learnt the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:11-13 emphasis mine).

Daring to be Different means that I have to learn to be content, and know that I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. That above all else and who else, I should sincerely love the Lord with all my heart and soul, and count the rest all but loss for the sake of knowing Him. That Daring to be Different is about loving God whether He blesses me or not, it is about remaining faithful to Him and not searching for “other gods” to help me get out of the situation. It is about being content with the Cross of Christ and what He has done for me there, whether my prayers are answered or not. Daring to be Different is about loving God unconditionally and allowing Him to be who He is and not what we want Him to be.

As I end I can’t help but reflect on how we love God with conditions and try to make him like we want. It is just like us humans do, for this is the same thing we do in relationships with others. Husbands are trying to change wives into who they want them to be, and wives doing the same. No one having the freedom to be themselves. I think about how we love God and ask, would it be fair if those who loved us would only love us because of what we can do for them, and they don’t care about how we feel? Would you like to be loved like that? Would I? It is like a good friend of mine told me once when we were talking about this very thing; he said “we are not concerned about God’s heart. It is like we do not know what it is like to be hurt by someone who loves us”. Dare to be different.