'The Key to Mission'

Jesus immediately saw what was happening and didn’t get sucked into the man’s desire for more money. 

Instead, Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to [the crowd], “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Matt 12:14-15) Jesus refused two things. First, He was not going to be used against a person. Second, Jesus was not going to validate the man’s greed which was poisoning the man’s soul. 

What does this mean for us? We should never try to incite God against anyone. I am always wary of people who pull the ‘God Card’. Such people are trying to give their side more credence than it deserves and shut down important conversation. Often, they are driven by their emotions and are trying to use God to get what they want. Manipulating people in the name of God might be one of the worst ways we could use the name of God in vain. God’s name should never be used against someone because God is at work for the good of everyone. Also, we need to check our hearts whenever a conflict is about money. Money fogs our thinking and keeps us from making decisions like a Christian. We are really good at justifying greed even if it costs us a relationship. We can come up with all kinds of reason why we deserve more. We need to humble ourselves before God and put money back in place where it belongs. 

We should take seriously Paul’s warning to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (I Tim 6:10). The only way for us to handle money well is to cultivate our love of Jesus more than our love of things.

Blessings,

Jonathan