MONEY AND RESURRECTION

COMMERCE or CHRIST?  By Gerald Chester   -SOURCE: www.strategieswork.com
In his gospel record, the first-century physician Luke quoted Jesus: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” Luke 16:13 (NIV). Hence the worship of God and money are mutually exclusive. Please note that I did not say that God and money are mutually exclusive, but rather the worship of God and money are mutually exclusive.   Most of us do not consider ourselves to be worshipers of money.   Instead we claim to be worshipers of God. But if Amy Domini is correct and the signs and symbols of the culture reveal what people really value and therefore worship, do the signs confirm that we are worshipers of money?  Consider the following signs:  Sign #1: Success is denominated in terms of money. When the label “successful” is applied to a person, we are commonly referring to his or her financial success. Unless the person is an outright criminal like Bernie Madoff, the level of success that one enjoys is directly proportional to one’s financial fortune.

Sign #2: Americans live as consumers not stewards. This is so obvious to the workplace that business pundits have labeled Americans as “consumers.” Furthermore, our economy is built on consumption; hence, when personal consumption drops, so does the economy.  Sign #3: An entitlement mentality has emerged in America regarding the right to a certain standard of living, disaster aide, health care, and financial safety. Most people expect the government to care for them if something goes wrong and when they get old. There is no compelling reason to responsibly save money or to help each other.  Sign #4: Almost everyone chooses their work based on money. People, as a general rule, accept jobs and leave jobs to make more money. Any other factors that might be considered are secondary.

Sign #5: Money, for the most part, dictates where people choose to live. Most people determine the largest mortgage they qualify for and shop for a home that will match that mortgage. Because of this, many people live “house poor,” meaning that they cannot adequately furnish, decorate and/or maintain their homes. Further-more, because people live on the edge financially, when economic stress comes they often lose their homes through foreclosure.

As I consider these signs, I am persuaded that money is very important to people-far more important than God. Having been active in Christianity for more than fifty years, my anecdotal observation is that God is important to people for a few hours each week on Sunday, but the rest of the time most people focus on money. Money defines who we are-how we view and use money, our social standing, our public policy, where we work, and how we live. Where is God in all of this?

As noted above, one of the rules of God’s universe is that people cannot worship both God and money-a choice has to be made. Sadly, few seem to understand this reality-many professing Christians display the signs noted above, which means that they are trying to worship God and money.  Let us be clear: when we break God’s rules, there will be consequences. Note the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” [NIV]. It is deception to think that we can sow seeds of rebellion by violating God’s laws and not have consequences. Yet,  this is what we are doing. We think that we can worship God and money, but God has said that we can’t…

The popular paradigm of present day Christianity focuses on getting people to make a decision for Christ, as if one decision is all that we need to make. This implies that all other decisions can be made without Christ. When you read the New Testament, it is abundantly clear the apostle Paul viewed Christ and his teachings as the basis for making all decisions (e.g., Colossians 2).   About a year ago, I heard a speaker say that he was not trying to get people to make a decision for Christ, rather he was trying to get them to make every decision for Christ. This is the biblical perspective.    I think the signs of the times are clear. The professing Christian  community, particularly in North America, has abandoned the worship of Christ and chosen to worship commerce (i.e., money). This choice will have undesirable consequences. Perhaps the current economic calamity is part of the consequences.     Hosea 13:2 reads: “Now they [the Israelites] sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen . . .” (NIV). Note that the craftsmen (i.e., the workplace) simply accommodated the wishes of the people. The real driver in a culture is the worldview of the people. The workplace and public policy of a culture merely reflect the people’s worldview. If the people choose to worship God, then the workplace and public policy will worship God. And if the people choose to worship money, the workplace and public policy will also worship money.   Choosing to worship money instead of God will lead to judgment (see Deuteronomy 28). But if people repent and worship the one true God, then there will be blessings. So the choice is      ours,   commerce (i.e., money) or Christ-what will it be?  Know this: because of the sin of man, the default answer is commerce. So if you want to change, truly change, you have to proactively engage in rejecting the worship of money and choose Christ…

Yours, in HIS great Love & wonderful Grace & Mercy, Ken<><   www.Trinity-Aloha.org