It’s been a while, but I need to get back to the Sermon on the Mount.
(Mat 6:24 ESV) “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Scot McKnight helps us see how the world would have looked to Jesus —
The Jesus we follow seems to have had nothing. He lived in a dry, hot, and dusty world. What food he ate he received by fishing, by farming, or by donations. The summers were long and filled with famine-causing heat; the houses in places like Capernaum were made of black basalt and were sturdy but hardly cool enough to make life comfortable. To cool off people waded into the Sea of Galilee. He lived on little; he lived from the generosity of others; he undoubtedly knew some hunger and thirst.
Jesus saw homes every day, from Sepphoris (just north of Nazareth) to Tiberias all the way around to the cities of the Decapolis, where wealthier Jews or Romans had villas and plenty of food and entertainment. He undoubtedly knew of the heated Roman baths Herod had built at Masada and other locations. He knew what it was to have little and to dwell with those who had even less while others around him basked in luxury and filled their mouths with delicacies. In Jesus’ Bible were passages about the Jubilee, and he evoked that very theme in his opening sermon in Luke 4:16–30. His vision tapped into the Jubilee, the gleanings, and the prophetic words — and he embodied a carefree, trust-in-God kind of economic vision. He demanded simplicity because he lived it; he expected care for the poor because he had experienced it.
The irony of wealthy followers of Jesus cannot be ignored.
Scot McKnight, Sermon on the Mount (The Story of God Bible Commentary; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 204.
In short —
Cannot is a strong term; it signifies a sheer impossibility. Slave is another strong term; it points to complete devotion. It is possible to devote oneself wholly to the service of God and it is possible to devote oneself wholly to the service of money, but it is not possible to devote oneself wholly to the service of both. The stark alternatives make it clear that the service of God is no part-time affair but something that calls for one’s fullest devotion. Since money tends to draw people away from God, Jesus warns about it. It is no sin to have money, but it is sin to serve (“be a slave to”) money.
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Pillar NTC; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 155-156.
The Greek verb behind serve (v. 24) is douleuō (“be enslaved to”). While a servant may serve more than one master, a slave cannot (note the verbs in v. 24); divided allegiance between God and money is impossible. Yet slavery to God brings perfect freedom, as the following verses show.
The next section describes living without anxiety (6:25–34), that is, the practical effects of obeying the teaching of verses 1–24 (note the “therefore” in v. 25a).
God’s slave has but one task—to obey him (v. 24); he depends on the Master to provide his needs (vv. 31–33). As one who has no rights, the slave joyously receives food and clothing and all the wonders of the natural world, as gifts from a Lord who is also his Father (vv. 26–33). Freed from bondage to money, he is able to enjoy the things that money can buy. Not so the slave of money: given the elusiveness and the vulnerability of his treasures, he is perpetually anxious (vv. 19–21, 31–32). He who rejects the true God for a false one (v. 24) loses this world as well as the next.
Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Baker Reference Library, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1995), 3:Mt 6:1–25.
Laymond, I think the scriptures says, “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil” and not just “money is the root of all evil.” God never placed sin on an item, but rather on our desire for that item. The tree in the middle of the garden wasn’t sinful, even though it was sinful to eat of. Adam and Eve fell to “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life”, which affect us all.
But you are right that our money is our money because we are blessed with it and all things we do as a saint should be to the glory of God and be helpful to others. Our blessing should in turn become anothers and God will bless us more. I think the parable of the talents was about getting an increasement with the blessings and gifts that have and must use. It is about responsibility to act whether we have a little or a lot for God glory. God will supply us with our tools to work.
Next to loving enemies, Jesus’ teachings on money are among the most difficult to obey. Yet, his teaching on each of these is liberating – IF we will take them seriously and obey them a
Without
Here is a thought. Think of the missionaries that were sent with money. Think of the people who have been fed with food bought from money. Think of the homeless who have been sheltered because people gave money. The definition of serving something means that it controls you. There are many wealthy people who are not controlled by their money and there are many people who are poor that are controlled by their money. The real thing is time if you spend a;; your time getting money you don’t have time for God and if you can’t see people in need and share crazy generously then you don’t know God. There done!