“No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Matthew 6:24 (NRSVue)
Here, Jesus is asking us to examine our priorities again. What do we value more? Where do we lay our trust? Practically, in the 21st century, with pension accounts the most efficient way for investing for a future after retirement, we may watch them fluctuate with some anxiety. Does this mean we are giving this more value than we give to God?
Maybe.
I think it has to do with the amount of time we devote to each.
For those caught in this trap, how does one get out?
The English Progressive Rock band, Pink Floyd, skewered the love of money in their 1973 song by the same title with the closing lyrics, "Money, it's a crime. Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie. Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today. But if you ask for a rise (pay raise) it's no surprise that they're giving none away."
The "root of evil" quote comes from 1 Timothy 6:10 which actually reads, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." but the point they make is that even when we recognize it, we still have trouble with greed. I think Jesus would appreciate the hypocrisy exposed by the lyrics.
Of course, as the band really took off and they all became multi-millionaires, I would think they could only play this song with a severe amount of irony.
So how do we not allow our earnings to displace God? This may be a question that we need to keep at the forefront for a periodic review to make sure we haven't done just that.
Can we trust God enough to be generous with what we have?
It is said that on average, people who earn less money are more willing to help a person in need. Those who earn more may also adopt the philosophy that their wealth is due to them through their hard work. They are less likely to see it as a life of blessing that should be widely shared.
As we move through Lent, how do we develop our generosity toward God? Which in essence becomes, how do we develop our generosity toward others?
Prayer for the day: Blessed God, thank you for the resources we have at our disposal. We realize that we have less than some but more than many. Help us to develop an attitude of generosity and remind us to cultivate gratitude for what we do have. And as we pray this prayer from a device of some kind, it becomes apparent that we do have it pretty good compared to many of your children in the world. Thank you. Amen.
Photo by Pictures of Money via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
"Money" lyrics copyright © Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd.
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