C. BEWARE THE LOVE OF MONEY – Part 2 of 5
3. You Cannot Love God And Money
No wonder true spiritual power and great wealth often seem so incompatible Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23). “It had happened that a certain young ruler of the Jewish people had come to Jesus and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ and Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.” And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ “And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you posses, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me!”‘ (Luke 18:18-22). When the young man heard this, he became sorrowful because he was very wealthy. Possibly he had struggled all his life to become rich. Being rich was the thing which most obsessed him. And now Jesus was telling him that to enter God’s Kingdom and inherit eternal life, he had to give it all up: “Dispossess yourself of your wealth and allow me to command you!” The young man was saddened because he loved his money more than he loved Jesus. He presumed he could love Jesus and love his money. He found he couldn’t have it both ways.
4. Covetousness Is Idolatry
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come… (Col 3:5,6). We usually think of idolatry as bowing down to idols and images. It is much more than that. Moses said of the idolatrous Israelites, “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately” (Deut 32:17). For a person to fall down in front of a statue or idol and worship it is to worship the demon that dwells behind the graven image. This is why idolatry is such a serious sin and why God’s wrath comes against it so severely. When Paul says covetousness is idolatry, he is saying the same thing, Covetousness, or greed, is the love of money. When we love money we worship it and the demon behind it. The name Mammon is often used synonymously for money or riches. Consistent love of money brings a person into direct obedience to the dictates of the powerful, demonic, spiritual authority. Being wrongly related to money is what constitutes the danger for a Christian leader. Having money does not. Otherwise, to have money at all would be a sin.
Next week
Beware the Love of Money 3