Matthew 6:24
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Exodus 20:3
I realize that by placing these two texts together as a heading, one might get the impression that what I intend to primarily address is the issue of money and the domineering mastery that it has over our lives. That however is not my primary focus. As important as the issue of money is, and the influence that it exerts on our lives, it is really only an indicator that highlights a greater issue behind it. Like a symptom of a greater disorder that’s lying beneath the surface. But before we address the disorder, lets first take a look at this symptom.
The Bible speaks a lot about money, riches and the devastating effects that it can have on people. Jesus spoke a lot about money and possessions. He also warned repeatedly about the dangers that a love for it can bring. Here are just a few…
- He used the illustration of the giving of alms to warn against hypocritical generosity and our desire to be honored by others (Matt 6:3-6).
- He used the illustration of a poor widow putting into the treasury only two small copper coins, but because of the level of sacrifice that it cost her, her gift before God was actually considered of more value than all the other wealthy contributors combined (Mark 41:44).
- He used a parable about a rich man who was very productive, and wanted to store up his goods for himself so that he could take his ease and enjoy the fruits of his labor to warn against covetousness and self centeredness (Luke 12:13-21).
- He used the parable of the unrighteous, unfaithful steward to warn against being unfaithful with earthly wealth, only to jeopardize your opportunity to be given true heavenly riches (Luke 16:1-13).
- He used a parable of a rich man who ignored the needs of others to warn of the eternal consequences that can come for doing so (Luke 16:19-31).
- He used His interaction with the rich young ruler who wanted to obtain eternal life, but left Jesus “grieved, because he…owned much property,” to warn about the devastating consequences that a love for money and possessions can have (Matt 19:16-24).
Jesus said after His interaction with this rich young ruler… “”Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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”(Matt 19:23,24).
To the disciples this was truly an astonishing statement, for they understood that “it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich”(Prov 10:22), not the other way around. A love for money can actually make it “hard,” nea “impossible,” for a man to “enter the kingdom of heaven.”
But why? Because “a rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination”(Prov 18:11), and he is prone to trust in himself rather than God for his deliverance (Prov 10:15).
Paul warned Timothy that “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang” (1 Tim 6:9,10). Paul says here that there are some, even in the church who “want to get rich,” that can “fall into temptation” and actually “wander away from the faith.” So this is a serious matter, indeed for all of us.
We know that we all are prone to “love the world and the things of the world”(1 John 2:15). We are all prone to show partiality to those who are rich (James 2), and for a variety of reasons. And yet in doing so (James says), we “are committing sin and convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). We know that personal generosity can be an illusive quality for all of us, and that we can all be prone to say when we see a “brother or sister” who is in need of even basic provisions, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet not give them what is necessary for their body” (James 2:15,16).
Of course there are those who would contest the suggestion, the possibility even, that they would have a “love for money, or do such a shameful thing. Does not the Bible call us to be “good stewards” of our possessions? Indeed it does. But if our propensity is largely toward the preserving of our wealth, rather than the sharing of it (1 Tim 6:17,18), may we not be in danger of “piercing ourselves with many a pang.”
If you think you’re not inclined to such a temperament, or becoming “funny about money,”ask yourself a few of the following questions…
- Are you always looking for or expecting to get a good deal on a product or service, and prone to get upset if you don’t?
- Do you excessively scrutinize products or services you’re considering purchasing, endeavoring to find a flaw or deficiency to get a reduced price?
- How inclined are you to be generous? Would others consider you to be a generous person? Or do you always need to check and see if you can afford to do so?
- Would you ever give a sizable amount of money as a gift? Or are you more inclined to set up a loan, perhaps even with interest?
- When a financial need is expressed at church in the congregation, are you inclined to wait first, to see if others will met the need before you offer assistance?
- If you gave your word to provide something for someone, would you keep your word even if it costs you to do so?
- Would you ever allow yourself to be defrauded in order to deflect a slanderous report about you as a Christian?
- Have you ever told yourself or others that you can’t afford to tithe?
It’s unsettling how many of these can register in our own minds and hearts if we’re honest. We want to be generous and share with those who have legitimate need, and yet how often we are inclined to wait, or make an excuse for why we can’t at this time. Funny isn’t it how possessive we can become of things that we actually don’t own (Ps 24:1). Indeed “what do we have that we did not receive?” (1 Cor 4:7). Could it be that a love of money has become a master over me, or is something or someone else to blame?
No one can serve two masters…
I would propose that the real master here… is ourselves, or to be specific, our unredeemed flesh, which continues to wage war against “the new self” (Eph 4:24), in “the inner man” (Rom 7:22), and the Spirit of God inside us (Rom 8). Money, or rather a love for it, is merely a symptom of our fleshly desire to continue to be the lord of our own lives, rather than Christ. We continue to refuse or resist to part with those things which are most precious to us.
Jesus said…“No one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). Be it our money or possessions, or power and prestige, or the deepest desires and aspirations, or even the closest of our relationships (Luke 14:26), everything has to be laid at the foot of His throne. Nothing can be held back or retained. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt 16:24,25).
Christ will not share his rule over us with us. We know how we respond to others who seek to impose their will upon us that have no jurisdiction over our lives. Would you ever tolerate someone coming into your home and telling you what to do? How you should live? Yet we expect Him to accept that arrangement. Or even worse, expect Him to stand aside.
We need to remember the fact “that we are not our own… for we have been bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:19,20). As Paul said…“That I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). That “Christ died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor 5:14).
We gave up our right to rule ourselves when we gave our lives to Christ and became Christians. Every time we assert our own will over His, we are in a very real sense declaring to Him… “You’re not in charge, step aside.” In so doing, we have again just violated the first commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Deut 5:7).
This is a sobering thought indeed, especially when we consider how often this happens throughout our day. Many of those conscious, intentional choices that we make each day (many of which seem so insignificant that to us they don’t warrant any additional thought or concern), are in fact brazen acts of rebellion against the Creator of the universe. The very One by whom “we live, and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Yet we sheepishly suggest…”Perhaps God didn’t notice that choice? Or we tell ourselves..“That’s so small, it doesn’t really matter.” Yet “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good”(Prov 15:3). If “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, how much more the hearts of men!”(Prov 15:11)
He doesn’t miss anything. Indeed “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb 4:12). The judgement of God is extremely pervasive. Every careless word (Matt 12:36), every deed (Rom 2:6; 2 Cor 5:10), even our “motives” (Prov 16:2), and “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:11), we will be held accountable for.
As Thomas Brooks said… ”There is no little sin, because there is no little God to sin against.”
This principle could best be understood in the statement…
“The gravity of an offense is tied to the majesty of the One being offended.”1
David clearly understood this when he said… “Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight” (Ps 51:4)
As R.C Sproul pointed out…”No traitor to any king or nation has ever approached the wickedness of our treason before God. Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward One to whom we owe everything, the One who has given us life itself.”2 This is the reality of our rebellious sinful choices before God.
James Dolezal concurred when he said that “sin is cosmic treason, but the gospel of Jesus Christ provides cosmic redemption, sufficient to forgive every sin. Sin is our supreme folly, but the death and resurrection of God’s own Son is the supreme revelation of divine wisdom and the perfect antidote for human foolishness.”3
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Lord Jesus help us to be mindful of the daily choices that we make, and enable us to “lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1,2).
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthian 9:15)
Footnotes:
1. Author unknown
2. R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 151–152
3. James E. Dolezal, Sin is Cosmic Treason – Table Talk Magazine – October 2025