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 6:24
This is one of the most beloved verses on the topic of money in the Bible. You cannot serve both God and money. It is also one hundred percent true and we should never believe anyone who tells us any different.
That said, we need to think carefully about the conclusions we draw from it. For instance, let’s look at the following scenario.
Two young men graduated from college and embarked on their careers. Both were committed believers who had a vision to follow God’s plan for their lives. They started work with similar salaries. The first budgeted well and managed his money carefully. He never over-spent. Rather, he lived within his means and waited for a promotion or salary increase before increasing his spending. His friends and church peers commended him for his careful approach and wise financial management.
The second wanted more. He lived frugally and saved as much money as he could. Then he invested those savings in a share portfolio in the hopes that it would grow to sustain him in the long term. His friends and church peers voiced their concerns about the dangers of wealth and chasing after riches. Better to be content with what you have, they told him.
By the time the two men reached their mid-thirties, their salaries had increased substantially. The first still budgeted, living within his means and managing money carefully each month. His expenses had increased over the years, as happens, but he worked hard and put in the necessary hours in order to keep pace with his spending. He still managed his money carefully. His friends and church peers commended him for his good work ethic and wise financial management.
The second continued to invest heavily, growing his now substantial portfolio. As his salary increased, so did his investments. He lived quite frugally, choosing to invest rather than spend. His friends and church peers warned him about the love of money. They told him that there is more to life than money and pointed out that you cannot serve both God and money.
A few years later, the two young men found themselves entering the pinnacle of their respective careers. Their salaries were higher than they had ever been. The first continued to manage his money carefully, ensuring that he kept pace with his ever-increasing expenses. Work demands increased but he rose to the challenge and continued to increase his earnings to keep pace with inflation and mounting monthly bills.
The second chose a different path. Having reached a point where his investment income could support him and his family, he decided to resign from his job and pursue a life in ministry as a full-time missionary. He continued to live frugally, allowing his portfolio to grow while living off the income it produced each year.
As these two men approached retirement age, the first man continued working at a demanding job to ensure that he earned enough to keep pace with his expenses. He devoted almost all of his waking hours to working at his job. He found little time to be involved in church activities as a result of work commitments. He continued working well past retirement age in order to ensure that he could still meet his monthly expenses. Even so, his friends and church peers continued to commend him for his good work ethic and wise financial management.
The second man never returned to the corporate world. Instead, he continued his work in the mission field. As his investment portfolio grew, he was able to begin funding other missionaries and ministries in their work around the globe. When he was no longer able to work in the mission field himself, he retired and continued to mentor and support a team young missionaries all over the world.
Now ask yourself. Which of these two men served God — and which one served money?
See, the worship of money — or Mammon — comes in many guises. And the most subtle is an endless pursuit of the next pay-check. In fact, let us now look at Matthew 6:24 in context and read the next verse.
You Cannot Serve Both God and Money — The Real Challenge
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.
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:24-25
Verse 25 calls out the real issue with regards to serving God or money. What we eat, what we drink and what we wear have nothing to do with chasing after wealth or riches; they describe our daily necessities. These are the things that every believer worries about, whether we are rich, poor or anything in between.
As long as we prioritise those daily necessities over God and his kingdom, we will spend our entire life chasing the next pay-check. This spiral will forever prevent us from seeking God’s purpose for our lives. The first man’s mistake was not that he worked hard and earned a steady income; both men did that. It was that he never stopped to seek God and his Kingdom. He never considered what God wanted for his life. Instead, all he ever focused on was his daily needs; what he would eat, drink, or wear — and he did that for his entire adult life.
The second man in the story knew what God wanted for his life and that is where he chose to focus his attention. This was reflected in his actions and choices over a lifetime. Granted, this is quite counter-intuitive to common first-world Christian thinking on the subject of money but that does not mean he was wrong.
In a cruel twist of fate, it was the first man who chose to serve money in his eternal pursuit of the next pay-check, while the second chose to serve God — making money his servant instead.
Let’s think about that before we draw ill-informed conclusions about what a given scripture, like Matthew 6:24 may or may not mean when we apply it to our life-choices.