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Table of Contents
- He Went Away Sad
- Salvation Has Come to This House
- Whom Do We Serve?
- A Biblical View of Wealth
- First Things First
How we handle money says much about how we serve God. It’s both a predictor and an indicator of our discipleship. It’s been said that you can tell a lot about a person’s relationship with God by their calendar and their checkbook.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … 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.”
Matthew 6:19-21, 24
Scripture repeatedly warns and guides us regarding handling money. Jesus understood the tendency of money to dominate our lives. He made it clear that we cannot serve both money and God simultaneously (Matthew 6:24) and further pointed out that where we put our money determines where our hearts go (Matthew 6:21). Paul similarly contrasted putting our hope in wealth with putting our hope in God (1 Timothy 6:17).
Our view of money and the way we relate to wealth can become an obstacle in our relationship with God or it can reflect our commitment to him. In this article, we’ll take a look at two wealthy men who encountered Jesus; one chose the way of worldly wealth and the other chose Jesus.
He Went Away Sad
(based on Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-27)
All his life, he had kept the commandments. In a position where others might take advantage for their own ends, he was a model of integrity. God had blessed him – he was an important leader and a wealthy man. And he was just getting started – his position and wealth belied his youth.
Yet, something was missing. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but it seemed like he should feel more of a connection with God than he did. When he voiced his concerns at the synagogue, everyone responded with the familiar platitudes about how God’s blessing indicated that he was on the right path. But somehow, this didn’t comfort him.
He needed an opinion he could trust from someone who wouldn’t be swayed by their knowledge of him. He had heard about an itinerant preacher who had come to town – people said that he spoke with authority and that his words touched their hearts in a new way. Apparently this Jesus was just about to leave town, so the young man decided to try to catch him on his way out.
Running up to Jesus, the young ruler blurted out the question that had been weighing on him for so long: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus’ first answer was a bit of a disappointment. Same stuff he had always heard about keeping the commandments. “I’ve kept the commandments faithfully all my adult life,” he answered. “But I feel like something is still missing. Can you tell me what it is?”
He felt Jesus’ gaze – it seemed that the teacher was peering into his very soul. What was he seeing?
“You do lack one thing,” Jesus responded at last. “If you really want to know and serve God, you need to sell everything you have and give the money away to the poor. The come and follow me.”
What? Sell everything? All the fruits of his hard work? All the evidences of God’s blessing in his life? Give up not only his possessions but also his position? He shook his head sadly as he turned away. This was not the life he was seeking.
Salvation has come to this house
(based on Luke 19:1-9)
He wasn’t happy with his life. Oh, it had started out fine – a position as a tax collector, power, and wealth – all these were his. But as he endured the scorn and hatred of his countrymen, Zacchaeus wondered if it was worth it all. Had he really sold his soul, as his most recent contact had said?
He thought back over his years of collecting taxes. Yes, he had occasionally (ok, maybe more than occasionally) overcharged someone and pocketed the difference. But all the tax collectors did that. It was expected. And yes, maybe his lifestyle wasn’t what it should be – he sensed the disdain from the synagogue rulers even as they accepted his contributions. Maybe he deserved it.
He’d heard about a tax collector in a different town whose life had been changed when he met Jesus. This Matthew was now one of Jesus’ disciples. He even heard that Jesus had gone to Matthew’s house to have dinner with him and his friends. Everything he’d heard about this Jesus was that he was different from the other teachers and from the synagogue rulers. Could it be possible that Jesus held answers for him? He’d heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho, so he decided to see for himself.
But there was a problem. Zacchaeus was short and would never be able to see Jesus over the crowd. So, although it wasn’t the most dignified thing to do, he climbed a tree in order to see Jesus. “Safer this way, anyway,” he thought. “I can see Jesus without the risk of talking to him.” He still wasn’t sure how he felt about a possible encounter.
As he watched Jesus come up the road, surrounded by the usual crowd, his heart skipped a beat. Jesus had stopped right in front of the tree he was in! “Zacchaeus, come down! I’m staying at your house today.”
Zacchaeus clambered down as quickly as he could. He heard the people muttering about Jesus staying with a sinner. But he didn’t care. Jesus had accepted him, and his life would never be the same. “Lord, I know I haven’t exactly led a righteous life. But I’m going to repay four times over anyone I’ve cheated, and I’m giving half my possessions to the poor. You are welcome at my house.”
“This is why I’ve come, Zacchaeus – to seek and save the lost. You were lost, but now you are saved.”
Whom Do We Serve?
Two wealthy men. Both encountered Jesus, and both faced the same choice. Would they serve God, or serve money? One left the encounter sad, because he had great wealth – and couldn’t give it up to follow Jesus. The other chose Jesus, and experienced a transformed heart and life.
Serving God has always been an all-or-nothing proposition. Joshua charged the Israelites who had just finished conquering the promised land to choose whether to serve God or to serve the gods of Egypt or of Canaan (Joshua 24:15). When Israel chose to serve a human king, they were rejecting God as their king (1 Samuel 8:7). And Jesus tells us that we have to choose between serving God and serving money, the chief rival god.
A Biblical View of Wealth
At this point, we need to be careful about the real danger of wealth. Three guiderails can help us maintain a balanced, Biblical view of wealth.
Wealth is not sinful.
Nowhere in the Bible is wealth called out as being sinful. Make no mistake – it’s not neutral; it’s deceitful, as we’ve seen. It tends to pull us in a direction away from God, but it can be managed in a way that honors God. Having wealth is not the same thing as serving it.
Scripture provides us many examples of wealth being used for God’s glory. Consider:
- David’s use of wealth to provide extravagantly for the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 29:2-5; note how this served as an example and inspired others to similar giving – verses 6-9)
- Women of means who followed Jesus using their wealth to support his ministry (Luke 8:1-3)
- Landowners in the early church selling their property and using it to support the poor in the church (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37)
We can’t give what we don’t have. Building wealth for the sake of using it to honor God reflects Biblical wisdom and character.
Wealth is not forbidden.
It’s obvious from the above that wealth is not forbidden in the Bible. Some have taken Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give to the poor as a command for all believers in all ages. This goes beyond what Scripture actually says and contradicts the examples above.
When Paul gave Timothy instructions for the rich, he didn’t say, “Tell them to sell everything and give to the poor.” He said to command them “not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth.” (1 Timothy 6:17)
Greed is idolatry (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5), but wealth is not. We’ve seen two wealthy people give two different responses to Jesus, with two different eternal results.
Wealth is an obstacle.
Wealth is neither sinful nor forbidden, but it is an obstacle. Jesus made this clear in his response to the rich young ruler: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The rich young ruler was not an exception; he was the rule. Zacchaeus was the exception.
Wealth is deceitful. In the Parable of the Sower, the deceitfulness of wealth is one of the things that choke out the seed of the Word, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:7, 22). This is what happened to the rich young ruler. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a closer life with God, but his wealth choked out that desire.
Wealth deceives us into thinking that we’re secure. It deceives us into thinking that we don’t need God. What was true in Jesus’ time is still true today. Around the world, responses to the Gospel are much more positive among the poor than among the rich. The rich think they already have what they need; the poor realize that they need something more. No wonder Jesus specifically called them out in his statement of his own mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…” (Luke 4:18).
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:9
Wealth promises happiness and goads us into serving money; but it doesn’t deliver (remember how the rich young ruler went away sad?). It lays a trap that keeps us pursuing riches until we eventually run out of time (see the Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:13-21). And it ultimately can lead to destruction.
First Things First
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
Immediately after declaring that we must choose between serving God and serving money, Jesus gave his famous encouragement not to worry (Matthew 6:25-34). It’s no coincidence that this encouragement follows hard on Jesus’ admonition about choosing whom to serve.
When our treasure is on earth, we’re constantly worried about what will happen to it. Inflation, banking system problems, domestic and global economic crises – these are the “moths and rust” of today. We do all we can to protect our treasure (and some of this may actually be good stewardship), but we still face anxiety over the future.
When we serve money, we’re not free to serve God. Time that could be devoted to leading our families spiritually, to growing as disciples and disciple-makers, to serving God in the community – this time goes to chasing the next pay raise or career advancement opportunity. Instead of generously sharing our resources (including time and money) with others, we find ourselves protecting those resources.
But when our treasure is in heaven, it needs no protection. We don’t have to worry about what will happen to it – Jesus has prepared a place for us and will take us there (John 14:1-3). Nothing on earth – including persecution, famine, poverty, or anything that threatens earthly treasure – can separate us from the treasure of God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).
When we serve God rather than money, we’re free. Free from the pressures and worries that serving money brings – not to mention, free from greed and from the deceitfulness of wealth. True freedom, and true peace, come from choosing to serve God over money.
So Jesus tells us to seek first God’s kingdom. In some ways, this is a restatement of the ideas of putting our treasure in heaven and choosing to serve God. But now Jesus takes it a step further. Not only do we not need to worry about our treasure, but we also don’t need to worry about providing for our most basic needs. God takes care of us as we seek first his kingdom.
Sure, we participate in this process through earning a paycheck and wise stewardship. But ultimately, it’s God who even gives us the strength, the knowledge, and the opportunities to earn a living (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). He takes care of us in different ways than he cares for the lilies and for the birds – but in the end, he’s still the one taking care of us.
Zacchaeus got this. The rich young ruler didn’t. Zacchaeus emerged from his encounter with Jesus freed from serving money, with his treasure in heaven, and seeking God’s kingdom first. The rich young ruler chose to remain in servitude to money, with his treasure on earth and all the worries that accompany that. May we consistently follow the way of Zacchaeus!