Which Will You Serve: God or Money? By Rick Warren
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
Would you agree that we live in a culture of materialism? The goal is to get more and more and more. And just about the time you catch up with the Joneses, they refinance or file bankruptcy. And just about the time you think you’ve got it all, the Black Friday advertisements come out, and they tell you about all kinds of things you didn’t know you couldn’t live without.
It’s tough keeping your priorities right when you live in a society that’s all about “getting.” The one with the most toys wins, right? No! The one with the most toys still dies, whether or not you’ve got toys.
There is only one antidote to materialism: generosity. Every time you’re generous, you have a spiritual victory in your heart. Every time you’re generous, your heart grows. Every time you’re generous, you break the grip of materialism in your life. Why? Because materialism is all about getting—get, get, get, get! It is your nature to get and to hold on.
But every time you’re generous, you are breaking that grip and defeating materialism in your life.
By the way, that’s why, if you’re a parent, you need to make sure your kids see you giving. They need to see you being generous because they’re not going to learn it anywhere else. Make sure they see you model generosity so that they can learn it too.
The Bible says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV). Notice it doesn’t say you “should not.” It says you “cannot.” It’s impossible. You can’t have two number ones in your life.
You have to choose what’s going to have first place in your heart. Choose generosity. It will transform your relationships with other people and your relationship with God. It will change you from the inside out as you learn to be generous like God is generous with you.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
Transform your prayer life with God’s Word!
True breakthrough from the struggles of life begins with prayer—and there is no better place to start cultivating a powerful prayer life than the Bible.
Discover the biblical wisdom you need to transform the way you pray when you dive into this special collection of verses from God’s Word. You’ll be inspired and encouraged by Scripture as you learn to trust in his promises.
Drawing key verses from Pastor Rick’s "40 Days of Prayer" teaching series, this set of 52 beautifully designed cards will help you memorize God’s Word so you can access it when you need it most—and it’s our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience the transformative power of prayer through Daily Hope!
Thank you for helping share the hope of Jesus Christ. May you enjoy a time of breakthrough as you fill your heart and mind with the truth of Scripture.
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of “current offer” materials you received from Daily Hope.
