“God Money” or “God’s Money”

When Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25) let’s be honest about what he’s saying. He’s clearly saying that wealth is a handicap to Christian discipleship. If you are offended at this statement then you’re in good company. So were the disciples (vv. 24,26).

To say that wealth is a handicap to discipleship is not to say it’s a curse or that it’s evil. There are any number of handicaps to discipleship that are not inherently evil (good looks, and a quick tongue come immediately to mind). To say that wealth is a handicap to discipleship is also not to say that it is a necessary barrier to discipleship. God has helped countless people conquer this handicap and has enabled them to use their wealth for the kingdom of God. Nonetheless, wealth is a handicap to discipleship because it so easily becomes an idol.

Why does wealth so easily become an idol? Just consider what it offers. It represents freedom. It gives us independence. It provides security. It helps us maintain an image. It enables us to keep up a particular lifestyle.

Now, what’s wrong with these things? Nothing, exactly. The problem is that these are the very things that the gospel is intended to provide! The gospel gives us freedom from sin. It makes us independent of the opinions of others. It gives us an eternal security. It makes us children of God (which is our image) and it enables us to keep up a particular lifestyle (of self-sacrifice and discipleship). But if we find these things in wealth then wealth replaces the gospel and becomes an idol.

The musical (?) group Nine Inch Nails makes a profound point in singing (?) about “god money.” Even from a non-Christian perspective it’s clear that money is the god that so subtly entices so many to bow down in service before it. The reality is, if you make $2,000 a year or $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year, you might be enslaved by money.  It all depends on how you use it.

When Jesus talks about money in Mark 10 he is making the point that true disciples place nothing ahead of the Lord Jesus. How does this relate specifically to money? In order for money to cease being a handicap to discipleship we must intentionally use it for kingdom purposes. We must be investors and distributors of God’s wealth, not hoarders.

Hoarders use wealth as a God. Investors use wealth as God’s and for his cause.

Let’s be honest, most of us have the “handicap” of wealth. Let’s pray that God would turn this handicap into an asset for his kingdom.