A Fickle Master

“When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them: ‘You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what’s behind the appearance.’” ~ Luke 16:14-15

Nobody likes a preacher who talks about money. It’s too close to home, too personal. And, frankly, it’s nobody’s business, certainly not a preacher’s. Jesus didn’t care that his words ruffled their fine feathers. He talked about money anyway, saying things like …

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

And …

“No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”

What does he know? the Pharisees scoffed with a roll of their self-righteous eyes. He’s out of touch, outdated, clearly uneducated on what life requires. God wants me to be happy.

It’s easy for me to look at Pharisees from a removed point of view. I’m not like them. I don’t mock the Christ the way they did. I don’t walk with religious airs. I don’t judge lesser Christians like they did. I’m different. I give a tithe. I donate garbage bags full of clothes and toys. I’m not a Pharisee at all. Look how generous I am.

But then I think about the hold money has on my life. The way I’m always worry about bills and my stuff. My compulsiveness to stockpile and hoard, afraid it will never be enough. The ease with which I buy multiple cups of coffee, and yet have difficulty releasing cash for various needs outside my home. My desire to buy a new car, even though the one I have works just fine. I think about the sleep I lose when my own finances seem insecure, and yet how easily I sleep when a friend is struggling financially. And the way I give only within the bounds of my comfort, but never to the point it’s a true sacrifice.

I’m a Pharisee trying to serve two masters. And one of those masters–the greater of the two–is saying, “You’re a master at keeping up a good appearance, but God knows how much you love money, how much you’re depending on it. He sees, and He wants to set you free.”

Jesus was/is far more in touch than anyone gave him credit for. Like my religious predecessors, I’m a person who gives away just enough to make myself look “Christian,” but who secretly finds her safety in the house and car and pile of paper security in the bank.

I need a different master, a less fickle one. And I need to become a better master at stocking up all my future security in an eternal place.