Hate the one, love the other


"Hate the one and love the other?" Thems be pretty extreme words.

While in Portland, we visited two very cool churches--one called 'Imago Dei' (= in God's image.) For those of you who might be familiar with the author of 'Blue Like Jazz,' Donald Miller, this is the church he often mentions in his books. (BTW: Blue like Jazz is highly recommended reading. A genre you may have never encountered. Hilarious and deep spiritual insights, written very honestly.)

Anyways, visiting an Imago Dei service was a very unique and inspiring experience for many reasons. One of them was hearing about a ministry they have called, 'Financial Peace University.' One member got up and told about how, several years ago, he and his wife had realized they had a dream of going to work abroad helping children, but how because of "their desire for material things" they would have to raise an unrealistically large amount of support to cover their burden of debt.

He said that he clearly heard God speaking to them through a verse I've heard SO many times and yet when he read it in connection with their story, it sounded completely fresh:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

Wow. Why didn't I hear it that way before?

He said that they wanted to serve God, but that unfortunately they were not free to do so because of their impulsive material desires. Long story short, he also told about how they were now financially free, thanks to a ministry called 'Financial Peace University'--a course that the church was running on money, debt, spending, etc.

Now, obviously, money itself is not evil; it is a blessing from God in so much as it enables us to meet needs--our own and others.

Every time I sit down to pay bills, my heart fills with overwhelming gratitude that God has, once again, given us the resources to pay the mortgage, electricity, health insurance, etc.

But here's what hit me so hard:

1.) A person cannot serve both God and money.

Mutually exclusive? Apparently so. We're talking about serving here.

2.) A person can actually serve money.

Just think about that. One can offer oneself in servitude to cash-ola, spending, status, prestige, stuff, goods. Servicing these like a lowly slave. Giving up one's freedom.

3.) Money can be a master.

Like as in a cruel bastard who keeps slaves. As in: shackles. A very different master than God. In fact, God won't even let you serve him if you serve money. Impossible.

Holy canoli.

That's pretty extreme. And you'd think, in a society where even Jesus own followers are consumed by passion for material things, that we could give some of the typical topics a rest and hear a few more sermons about this matter that affects pretty much all of us. I know most churches to do a 'money' sermon here and there, but mostly it's about giving more to the church so that they can install cup-holders in the new auditorium or buy bigger woofers and flat-screens for the new $20 million children's center. Meanwhile, millions of God's other children, mostly invisible to us, have curable diarrhea and no food. Hmmm...God and money.