Money has a way of getting to your heart like nothing else. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus draws a line in the sand: "No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Some translations use the word "mammon" there, and when you see it capitalized, it looks like a name, like an idol. That's not far off. The Aramaic word Jesus chose, mammon, simply means possessions or wealth, but by using it the way He did, Jesus elevated money to the level of a competing god.

An Old Problem in a New Form

In the history of Israel, the number one sin of the people was idolatry. Generation after generation, the Israelites would chase after other gods because it seemed more appealing. They made physical idols, and for some reason, it was easier for them to worship something they could see than to trust Jehovah, who didn't want any images made of Him at all. Then the bad things would happen. They'd get oppressed, enslaved. They'd cry out to God. He would rescue them. For a generation, they'd serve the Lord, and then the next generation would turn right back to idolatry.

It got so bad that God allowed His people to be taken out of their country and into exile. Seventy years later, He brought them back, and during that exile, it finally got through. They said, "We are not going to worship other gods anymore." By the time Jesus arrived, Israel had about 400 years of being faithful to the teachings of the Word.

But because we all like to replace God with something, idolatry had snuck back in through a more crafty door. Their idolatry became following the law. Their idolatry became wealth. Their idolatry became the pursuit of the glory of other people. That's why Jesus constantly addressed the Pharisees who prayed for attention and performed righteousness for an audience.

So when Jesus compares God to mammon like an idol, He's taking it right back to the Old Testament, saying, "You've made an idol out of this, and if you make an idol out of money, you can't serve it and God at the same time." They don't compete. God is not interested in competing for your affection.

God Wants an Undivided Heart

In Deuteronomy 6:14, we read God's heart about idolatry: "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the people who surround you. For the Lord your God, who is in the midst of you, is a jealous God. So follow Him, or else the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth."

That's strong language, and yet the Israelites consistently followed other gods, and He still spared a remnant. He didn't wipe them completely off the face of the earth, because God is a God of grace and mercy. But we see clearly that He is a jealous God. He doesn't want you divided between two things.

If you look for the thread that runs through these passages, from the idea of two treasures, two visions, two masters, it would be this: have an undivided heart. God wants your heart undivided when it comes to money, undivided when it comes to possessions, undivided when it comes to generosity or greed. He wants it completely devoted, with a single-mindedness toward Him.

That is really the message of the Sermon on the Mount. God cares far more about your heart being transformed than your behavior, because people can behave well and their hearts still don't belong to Him.

Money Is a Tool

So what exactly is money? Ron Blue put this succinctly, and his framework is helpful here.

First, money is a tool. First Timothy 6:17 says, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, and to be ready to share."

Like any other tool, money is kind of neutral. It's not evil and it's not inherently good. Think of a chainsaw. A tree falls down and blocks a road; a chainsaw is one of the best tools you can grab. But a chainsaw can also be used for terrible things, and if you're irresponsible with one, you can get hurt. Money works the same way. It can be used for good or for bad. We're invited to think of money as a tool and then ask, "How can I be rich in good works? How can I be generous?" If it's a tool, we need some level of access to it, and God invites us to steward it wisely.

Money Is a Test

Second, money is a test. It tests whether you are generous or greedy, whether you trust God and His Word or not.

In Luke 16:10-13, Jesus says, "The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much, and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you true riches? If you have not been faithful in the use of that which was another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Money tests our loyalty and our faith. It's an opportunity to demonstrate who we serve. When the temptation comes along to do something unethical in a business dealing, with your taxes, when an opportunity comes up to cut corners financially, and it absolutely will, that's a test. That's an opportunity to say, "Who I am in Christ, my identity, who He sees me to be because He sees everything, matters more to me than saving a buck."

A mentor of mine in my early 20s told a story about buying a car for cash. As he was exchanging the title, he was supposed to write in the mileage and the purchase price. The seller told him, "You can put whatever amount you want in there. Put a hundred bucks. Nobody's going to care. You'll pay less taxes." My mentor, Bruce, said, "No, I think I'll just put what I paid." The guy said, "Suit yourself."

Hearing that story made an impression on me. Eight years later, I found myself in a similar exchange, buying a vehicle for cash, and the owner handed me the title and said, "Write whatever you want." It was a test. It was a moment for me to ask, "Who am I? Am I someone who writes what's honest and true, or do I write what saves me money?" And money was tight at that time. I would have loved to not pay taxes on that, or pay a smaller amount. But I made a choice, and that choice was set by example from someone I admired.

When You Don't Pass the Test

If you didn't pass the test last time, pass the next one. What has to change in your heart to not cheat and not cut corners, but to say, "I want to pass the tests in these areas of my life"?

Money also tests our faith. Sometimes we get hit with a bill, a medical bill, or a car repair, and we find ourselves in a tough spot. There's an opportunity to trust God in that moment and pray about it, rather than react out of fear. My wife came to me once and challenged me. She said, "I think we're shortchanging what God can do by putting things on a credit card and saying we're good for it." I said, "I think you're right. Let's do that." And so we started to trust God differently. Eventually, we built up our savings to the point where, when those bills hit, the savings were there. We didn't enjoy spending it that way, but it was there.

Money Is a Testimony

All of this becomes a testimony. In 1 Timothy 6:9-10, we read, "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some, by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

That's a picture of a really bad testimony. Money can plunge people into ruin, or it can be a testimony of God's goodness and His faithfulness. When you start to trust God with your money, you start to stack up testimonies that give honor and glory to Him.

My wife and I have many stories of God's faithfulness and provision, sometimes in things you'd consider small, things we just prayed for and said, "This is a desire of our heart. We think it's a good desire. We can't make it happen. Lord, would You make it happen?"

One time, specifically, we were praying for a vacation. We were a single-income home on a youth pastor salary in Orlando, Florida. We just didn't have much. I prayed, "Lord, I don't know how we're going to go on vacation, but I need to get out of here." I was working really hard and just needed to leave town, so I began to pray about it.

Then I got a phone call from a young man who had been in my student ministry when I was a youth pastor in Michigan. He'd moved to Florida, and when I asked what he was doing, he said he was getting a degree in hotel management and working as an assistant manager at a hotel in the West Palm area. He called to tell me we could come stay at his place for $35 a night in a suite. It wasn't on the ocean, but it was close enough. I said, "Lord, that's in our budget. Let's do that."

Right before that same vacation, we got a big car bill. I looked at it and realized all I had saved up for the fun stuff was going to be wiped out. Vacation was going to be a lot of peanut butter and jelly. I prayed about it, and someone called me the night before and said they felt really led to help us out. They had heard we were going on vacation, and they sent us the exact amount of the car bill.

We pay our tithe because Scripture says to. We try to live generously because Scripture says to. And we don't worry about our needs because He says He's faithful to provide. It's the best way to live.