Money Mentalities
Monday Morning Commentary
This week Pastor Chad continued our September series Two Masters with a message Money Mentalities. There is. a strong relationship between money and desire. How we spend our money reflects what we desire. And Jesus teaches us that we cannot serve God and our desires; because ultimately, He must be our desire.
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “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.” Here Jesus is teaching us that money seeks to master three matters in our life – our love, our loyalty and our service.
God has asked that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Our strength is that which we labor to do every day – the work of our lives, our job; career; what we apply our strength to that is rewarded with money. If we understand that using our strength is a way that we show our love to God, then we must understand that giving money to God is a practical demonstration of that love. We not only work with the understanding that our job is a field in which God has planted us to fulfill His mission of spreading the Gospel, but we work with the understanding that He is worthy to receive of the fruit earned in that field – money. And when we do, we disable money from mastering our love.
We are children of the King. We live in God’s Kingdom. As in all kingdoms, the king desires loyal subjects. Is the King of Kings who has rescued us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of light, not worthy of our loyalty? The King who has loved us with a steadfast and faithful love, desires our steadfast and faithful love. Loyalty requires consistency. God is not random and spontaneous in His love for us; He is constant. When we consistently give the tithe to the Lord, we demonstrate our dependence on God who is our Provider and we consistently disable money from mastering our loyalty.
What we do with our money reflects our character. If you are working to fulfill your own desires and build your own Kingdom, then you are a slave to self. If you are working to fulfill God’s mission for your life, then money cannot keep you from serving God and walking through the open doors He places before you. In Proverbs 10:16, God promises those who serve God instead of money, “the labor of the righteous leads to life.” Life, that fulfills us in every possible way, is found in service of the King and this is how we disable money from mastering our service.
God’s economy is broader than money. God can provide for you in ways that money never can. Money is limited, but God is not. When you trust God and make Him the master of your money, He can do the impossible.
When we give, we give in worship to the one who purchased our salvation on our behalf. We don’t give to buy the love and the favor of God. We give with purpose. We give to put money in its proper place of serving the mission of God. Every time we spend money, we are representing what we are spending our life for. Consider then, how much of your life you’re spending on serving self. Then, make the decision to be faithful to give to God and watch Him be faithful to you.