The Narrow Path (Week 9): Our Money

We are often told in our lives that more is better.  That the goal of our lives should be to climb a career ladder, or at least, to get to a point where we can “live comfortably”.  The problem many of us often face is the reality that “living comfortably” is a moving target.  Once we reach our financial target, it’s easy to see the people living in a financial bracket above us and believe that comfort actually resides there. That’s why Jesus’ teaching here is so essential for us.  Jesus is pointing out something that we need to pause and really consider.  To Jesus, it seems that money is not a passive tool, but rather, a rival God.  Money, or the love of money, has a way of warping us and demanding more from us.  It’s why we see people compromise morally when money is involved.  It’s why we people arrange their entire lives around trying to find more money.  Money seems to have a way of forcing us, not just to use it, but rather, to obey it.  To arrange our lives around it.  To worship it. Jesus' point is, if we spend the best of our energy and passion to gain wealth, it ends up owning us. When our lives are absorbed with money and what it can get us, we end up serving it to our own demise.