Money Is Money Your Servant or Your Master?
Does having money mean that we are servants of mammon? That's a good question that begs an answer but, more importantly, begs clarification. What exactly does it mean to "have money"? What does it mean to be "rich"? In the eyes of a great number of people in this world, Americans who earn minimum wage are "rich" and anyone with a positive balance in a bank account "has money." Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and their like notwithstanding, "wealth" is a relative term. That being the case, the discussion should not be so much about what we have as it is about what we do with what we have. James addressed some who had a great deal but hoarded it (James 5:1-5) while Luke 19:1-10 tells us about prosperous Zacchaeus who freely and willingly shared his material blessings with others. If money is your master, then you will do whatever you have to do to get all that you can get so that you can have all that you think you could ever want. Friends, family and the Lord will all by pushed aside in your pursuit of it all. The trouble is that you'll never have it all and, with the attitude that money is your master, you will never get everything you want. You'll be like the greedy man who defined the word, "enough" as, "One dollar more than I have." You will never be satisfied. On the other hand, if money is your servant, then you will realize that you are merely a steward and not the owner of your material blessings. You will view your dollars and cents as tools that you can use to provide your needs and help provide for those who are in need. The Gospel according to Luke contains several parables that reference money. The rich fool reminds us that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Luke 12:15). The unjust steward brings to mind the fact that we are to be good stewards regardless of how much or how little we have, for "he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10). Along with the material blessings we enjoy comes the responsibility to exercise sound judgment regarding their use. We're only borrowing these things for a little while during our earthly journey so let's be sure that we use what we have to the glory of God. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (I Corinthians 10:31). An All Too Familiar Prayer Now I lay me down to sleep, This little, bitty garage of ours Lord, when tomorrow's day is here And while I'm praying, by the way, |