The other day I was in a grocerty store and found myself singing a little ditty I haven’t heard in years…you probably know it.  It goes:

“The best things in life are free…

But you can give it the birds and bees…

I need money… (that’s what I want).

That’s what I want…  (that’s what I want).

Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum…”

Are you singing it yet?  Has there ever been a catchier tune?  Anyway, why was I singing it?  I don’t know, maybe it was the song playing, or maybe similar words were in my peripheral vision on a magazine cover, or maybe it was because I was at the checkout…and you know how thrifty people (especially when they can see that there is not sufficient intake to replace the output) HATE to spend money…which means you hate money…right?  Right?  I mean, isn’t it basically holy to hate to spend money?  Because then you… have…more…money…oh.

Do you see it?  No, hating to spend money, especially for something I need, doesn’t mean I hate money.  It means I love money.  It masters me, it makes me feel safe, and I want it.

Here are two verses.  You will probably know both of them, but did you ever notice that one follows directly after the other?  I didn’t.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Mat. 6:24-25  (emphasis mine)

Note the key word “therefore.”  When we worry about money, we’re mastered by it.  We are enslaved.  It’s a sign:  on some level, we love it.  But Jesus said we CANNOT serve both.  He said we CANNOT serve Him, and be enslaved to money.  He made it very clear.

Worry over money has been a dark cloud that has stolen so many of our sweetest moments of victory and vision.  In some ways, it felt like we launched our fishing boat into the sea of harvest, singing at the top of our lungs, only to be washed over by a tidal wave of WORRY.  We were tempted to blame others.  We could only hear so many times, “How will you…?  What about…?  Is it wise…?”  before we sat down to take stock.  Maybe we aren’t wise.  Maybe the Lord won’t take care of us.  Maybe He’s setting us up for a really big learning lesson.

But it turns out we can’t blame others.  We are the ones who are not free, who are tempted to hear another Master, who are in danger of disobedience, who are enslaved.  No use protesting innocence and pretending to be free, as I approach the grocery checkout singing, “I want money…” cringing as I buy my family food.  Jesus has plenty of funds for me to joyfully buy my family food!  It is taking some serious repentance to extract myself from this attitude where I trust more in a certain income than in Jesus Christ.  Oh, God, that I would despise the other master and be entirely YOURS.

Interesting to note:  this passage is in the Beattitudes.  Jesus wasn’t even speaking to the 70 or the 12.  This provision He speaks of isn’t even spoken of to the “sent ones,” but to EVERYONE.  It’s not conditional even on doing ministry or doing the right ministry.  Obedient children of God need not (must not) worry about provision.

(Note:  obedience will ALWAYS involve hard work with a fraction of time spent on rest, especially in vocational ministry.  Proverbs is clear that someone who is not working hard will face God’s correction.)

This is an interesting phenomenon to observe among moms.  There’s something about a multiplication of little people in the household that brings out a talent for multiplying your funds.  This often brings out references to Proverbs 31, and competition to see how much you can get for your buck.  This value system was pretty deeply ingrained in me when I married OJ, who helped me to see that I was somewhat crazy.  I had so idolized the saving of money, that I was almost completely oblivious to the much more valuable commodity of time, which you can never replace.

I would waste hours of research, driving time, who knows what, to save ten bucks.  But, folks, I seriously thought there was something intrinsically godly about saving money!  Ha!  I really thought it was a kingdom value!  I finally came to see that there was no backing for this whatsoever in scripture.  It was a hidden love of money.

Watching people who are particularly enamored with saving money, especially those who, like myself, think it’s a kingdom value, I’ve been struck by the deception.  I’ve seen people bargain others down or rejoice over a triumph of acquisition in which it’s clear that they have completely forgotten that there is any other person involved in the transaction.  They do not see the  merchant working to care for his family or a waiter who has been on his or her feet, or even that it’s just fair to pay for goods and services.  They think they are pleasing the God of Justice and Generosity by their craftiness.  In their marriages, families, and relationships, they will sacrifice harmony, generosity, and unity for saving money.  It’s love of money.

How many thrifty people did it take to build the Walmart empire?  How much evil do we not know about…how much child labor, destruction of small business, exploitation of resources, especially in poorer nations?  This is the sort of systemic evil structure that is built by love of money, and too deeply imbedded in our lives to extract by the time we learn what it really is.  This is what I was speaking of in the last post.

We are deceived if we don’t realize that Mammon’s temple has as much of its foundation laid in worry as in greed.

(Note:  I’m not saying it’s evil to shop at Walmart, but just using it as an example.  Paul helps us keep our consciences clean in regards to merchandise in 1 Cor 8.)

So…there’s the worry side.  It’s not the only side, though.