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Jesus and Money

Let us consider the teachings of Jesus about our resources. As followers of Jesus, He is the One who determines our worldview. His values govern our decisions. 

It is quite surprising how many times he spoke about financial resources. 

It is wonderful how many times the Bible addresses our concerns and fears! The Bible talks about money so many times just to remind us that our financial status is important to God! There are about 2 000 verses in the Bible about money and treasures and 16 of the 38 parables of Jesus are about money.

Let’s have a look at a very fundamental passage about money.

Matthew 6:19-24 Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will always be where your treasure is. Your eyes are like a window for your body. When they are good, you have all the light you need. But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark. You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Your eyes are a light to your body. Jesus teaches us that our perspective (worldview) about things like money will determine whether we live in His light or battle in the darkness of confusion and frustration.

Jesus talks about our definition of ‘treasures’. We obviously equate our treasures in earthly possessions like property or savings or investments or goods. Jesus teaches us that our treasures are in heaven: That means that only when our earthly wealth serves the bigger plan of God for our lives will it bring joy and meaning. Jesus says: Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

The key issue at hand is: WHO IS YOUR MASTER? Money or God? You cannot serve both masters according to Jesus. When you serve God and you desire to please Him with everything, money becomes a neutral element, money becomes a tool to achieve God-honoring outcomes.

But when money becomes your master, it enslaves you to always want more and more and it causes you to negotiate important values to get more. Very often relationships pay the highest price when money enslaves people because making money comes at the cost of the people we love.

1 Timothy 6:10 The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.

Money is neutral, the love of money causes us to lose perspective about what is truly important and it alienates us from quality relationships.

A follower of Jesus declares that God is my Master and money will become an instrument of worship as I pursue His purposes for my life and for His Kingdom!