Is there a conflict between God and Money?

How should we understand the scripture that says: “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”? There is no inherent conflict between God and money. Money symbolizes material good, and there can be no conflict between God and any form of good or anything that is righteous, as God is the source of all good and righteousness. The scripture says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” However, the conflict in the verse is not between God and money, but rather between serving God and serving money. The devil seeks to wage war against God and hinder His authority and love in humans by tempting them with the love of money, making them believe that their happiness, comfort, luxury, and even life depend on money. Once the devil succeeds in convincing people of the greatness of money, they become enslaved to it, losing their true essence of life, which lies in their relationship with God. The person then serves money, rather than having money serve them. This contradicts God’s will, who created money and all things to serve humans, not for humans to serve money, as the scripture says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” When Christ said, “No one can serve two masters,” He wanted to show us the danger of money’s mastery. The mastery of money over its servants can be compared to God’s mastery over His servants. Therefore, Christ affirmed, “You cannot serve both God and money,” because the mastery of money directly contradicts the mastery of God. Those who are mastered by money believe in its power and effectiveness in their lives, leading them to pride and distance from God. On the other hand, those who are mastered by God believe in His power and effectiveness within them, dedicating themselves entirely to Him and rejecting any other master. These two masteries cannot coexist, as they are opposites. This is why Christ explained the position of a person between the two, saying, “Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” When a person dedicates their trust, effort, and life to serving the master they have chosen (whether it be God or money), they inevitably despise and disbelieve in the other. If a person chooses to serve God and not money, does that mean they will live in poverty and need? Absolutely not. Christ answered this question clearly in the following verses, saying: “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? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” God wants to meet our needs through faith and reliance on Him, seeking His kingdom first, not by depending on uncertain wealth and possessions. Paul also advises the rich to rely on God, not on their wealth, as the scripture says, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” God grants everything richly for our enjoyment, but with wisdom to help us grow in piety and humility. The scripture also says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” It continues, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” The greatest gift God wants us to accept is the new birth from above, through receiving the Son, “who was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Through our relationship with the Lord, we will experience what Paul expressed when he said, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” In fellowship with the Lord, we enjoy every good and perfect gift with Christ, not away from Him. God grants us “everything richly for our enjoyment” through Him. Are there examples in scripture that illustrate the difference between serving money and serving God? Certainly. Let’s begin with the parable of the prodigal son, as told by Christ: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” Here, we see that the younger son handed himself over to the mastery of money and departed from his father. He squandered his wealth and lost his dignity as a human, to the point that he longed for the pigs’ food. Had it not been for God’s mercy that brought the son back to his senses, he would have perished from hunger, as the scripture says: “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.” Upon returning to his father, the situation completely changed. The son’s dignity was restored, and his joy and fellowship with his father were renewed. Likewise, whoever serves money, the world, or desires loses everything, but whoever serves God gains everything. Another example is Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. The scripture says about the children of the curse, “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” This prophet’s love for money blinded him, so he did not see what his donkey saw, nor understand what the donkey understood. He taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and committing immorality, all out of love for the wages of wickedness. And what was the result? The destruction of many, and Balaam himself was killed by the sword. In contrast, we see Daniel, who despised wealth and glorified his living God. When Belshazzar, the wicked king of Babylon, called him to interpret the miraculous writing, “The fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale, and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.” None of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, or diviners could interpret the writing. So the king called for Daniel and said to him: “Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” Daniel answered, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.” Here we see how the gifts and rewards of a wicked king were despised by a faithful servant of God. Thus, God blessed Daniel throughout his life and revealed many visions to him, calling him “the beloved man.”