Two Masters: God or Money?

Two Masters: God or Money?
The scripture that made me question why I wake up every morning.
There are moments when you read something you have read many times before, but suddenly it speaks to you differently. You stop, go back, and read it again. Not because the words are unfamiliar, but because, for the first time, you begin to see something you had never really considered.
That was my experience recently while reading Matthew 6:24 and reflecting on some of the teachings and books of the late Dr. Myles Munroe about the Kingdom of God, purpose and the principles of life.
Jesus said, “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.”
I have known this scripture for years. I have heard it preached in church and probably read past it without giving it much thought. But this time, something caught my attention.
Jesus did not say we cannot serve both God and the devil. He said we cannot serve both God and money.
I paused for a moment.
Growing up, we were taught so much about the devil. We heard about Satan, evil spirits, spiritual attacks, temptations and the importance of resisting the enemy. We were taught to pray against the works of darkness and to be careful not to allow the devil to influence our lives. Even today, much of our Christian conversation revolves around what the devil is doing or trying to do.
But here was Jesus, speaking about the two masters that compete for our devotion, values, integrity, character, attention, and energy, and He did not mention the devil. He mentioned money.
That really made me think.
Jesus was never afraid of the devil. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus stood firm and responded with the Word of God. He knew who He was, why He had come and whom He served. Satan even offered Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory in exchange for worship, but Jesus rejected the offer.
Yet when Jesus spoke about the divided loyalties of the human heart, He identified money as a rival master.
I began to wonder whether we have become so conscious of the devil that we have overlooked something much closer to our everyday lives. Something we pursue, discuss, worry about and organise almost everything around.
Money.
The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became. Not because money is evil, but because I began to recognise just how much influence it has over our lives. Paul encourages the young Timothy in his epistle in 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (KJV)
Then a question came into my mind.
Why do I wake up every morning and go to work?
It sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it? Most of us would probably answer that we work because we need money. We have bills to pay, families to support, children to educate, homes to build, and responsibilities to meet. We need to earn a living.
And that is true. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working to provide for ourselves and our families.
But I kept thinking.
Is that all?
Do I wake up every morning, prepare myself, drive to work, spend eight or more hours in the office, return home exhausted, sleep, and repeat the same routine the following day simply because I need to get paid?
I work for two weeks, receive my salary, pay my bills, meet my financial commitments and wait for the next payday. Then the cycle begins again.
Fortnight after fortnight. Month after month. Year after year.
And eventually, I retire.
Is that what life is all about?
Was I created simply to work, earn money, spend it, accumulate some possessions and eventually leave this world?
Surely, there must be something greater than that.
As I continued reflecting, my thoughts returned to the teachings of Dr. Myles Munroe, particularly his emphasis on the Kingdom of God and the purpose for which every human being was created.
I began thinking about the gifts, abilities, talents, knowledge and potential that God has placed within each of us.
Surely God did not create me merely to occupy an office, hold a position in an organisation and collect a salary at the end of every fortnight.
There must be a reason He gave me the ability to think, to learn, to create, to lead, to solve problems and to influence the world around me.
There must be something within me that the world needs.
And perhaps my work is supposed to be one of the ways through which that purpose is fulfilled.
That thought began to change how I looked at my job.
What if the real reason I wake up every morning is not simply to earn a salary, but to use the gifts God has placed within me to make a difference?
What if my workplace is not merely somewhere I go to make money, but a place where I have been allowed to contribute something meaningful to society?
What if my education, professional experience, knowledge and abilities are not simply tools for increasing my earning potential, but resources God has entrusted to me for the benefit of others?
I began thinking about the many problems around us. Problems in our organisations, communities, institutions and country. Problems that require people with knowledge, creativity, courage, integrity and a genuine desire to make things better.
Could it be that some of the gifts God has placed within us are intended to provide solutions to those very problems?
And if that is true, what happens when we spend our entire lives pursuing money while neglecting the purpose for which those gifts were given?
That thought frightened me more than the thought of not having enough money.
Imagine reaching the end of your life having earned a good salary, owned a beautiful house, driven nice vehicles, and achieved professional recognition, but never having fully discovered or used the gifts God placed within you.
You may have made a good living, but did you make a meaningful contribution?
You may have achieved financial success, but did you fulfil your purpose?
You may have accumulated wealth, but did the world become any better because you were here?
I am not suggesting that we should stop earning money or abandon our ambitions. I have ambitions myself. I want to grow professionally, continue my education, establish businesses, invest wisely and provide a good future for my family.
But I am beginning to understand that these things should not become the ultimate reason for my existence.
Money should support my purpose, not replace it.
My career should provide opportunities to express my gifts, not become the sole measure of my worth.
And my success should not be measured only by what I accumulate, but also by what I contribute.
Then I remembered something Jesus taught His disciples when He showed them how to pray.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:10 (KJV)
I have prayed those words many times. But as I reflected on them, I began to ask myself what they should mean for my everyday life.
If I am praying for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth, shouldn’t that prayer influence how I live and work?
Shouldn’t the place where I work experience something of God’s righteousness, integrity, wisdom and love through the way I conduct myself?
Shouldn’t the people I serve benefit from the gifts and abilities God has given me?
Shouldn’t I be contributing, in whatever capacity I can, towards making my community, my country and the world a better place?
I began to realise that fulfilling God’s purpose is not confined to preaching behind a pulpit or serving within the four walls of a church.
A teacher can express God’s love and wisdom by educating the next generation. A nurse can demonstrate compassion through caring for the sick. A businessperson can practise integrity, create opportunities and improve people’s livelihoods. A public servant can contribute to justice, accountability and better services for the community.
And someone working in an airport can contribute to connecting people, supporting economic development, improving services and creating opportunities that benefit an entire nation.
Perhaps this is one way we participate in God’s work in the world: by allowing His values to shape what we do with the gifts He has entrusted to us.
Not because we can establish God’s Kingdom through our own efforts, but because we can become instruments through which His goodness, justice and love are made visible in the places where He has positioned us.
And suddenly, the question of why I wake up every morning became much bigger than my salary.
I do not simply want to wake up to make money. I want to wake up knowing that there is something meaningful I can contribute.
I want to go to work knowing that the knowledge and abilities God has given me can help solve problems, improve systems, influence lives and create opportunities for others.
I want my life to count for something beyond myself.
And I began to see how this connects with what Jesus was teaching about the two masters.
If money becomes my master, it can begin to determine what opportunities I pursue, what decisions I make, what I am willing to compromise and how I measure success.
I may begin to ask only one question whenever an opportunity comes my way: How much money will I make?
But if God is truly my Master, I must ask something more.
Is this consistent with His will? Am I using my gifts faithfully? Am I acting with integrity? Am I serving others? Am I fulfilling the purpose for which He created me?
Two people can work in the same organisation, hold similar positions and earn similar salaries, yet be motivated by very different things.
One may see work primarily as a means of making money. The other may see work as an opportunity to fulfil a calling while also earning an honest living.
From the outside, there may be very little difference between them. But their motivations can shape the decisions they make, especially when doing what is right comes at a financial cost.
And that brought me back to the words of Jesus.
“You cannot serve both God and money.”
I began to understand that Jesus was not condemning wealth. He was confronting the question of who has authority over our hearts.
Money is necessary. We need it to live, provide for our families, support the church, help those in need and undertake meaningful work. There is nothing inherently wrong with being financially successful.
But the danger begins when money stops being a resource and becomes the reason for everything we do.
When we are willing to compromise our integrity for it.
When we neglect our families and responsibilities because of it.
When our happiness, identity, and security depend entirely on it.
When we become so consumed with acquiring more that we forget why God placed us here in the first place.
And perhaps that is what makes this scripture so confronting.
It is possible to attend church every Sunday, pray, read the Bible and speak about God, yet allow money to govern the most important decisions of our lives.
We may recognise the obvious temptations of the devil while failing to recognise the quieter temptation to make wealth our ultimate pursuit.
This does not mean that money is more powerful than the devil or that Jesus was dismissing the reality of spiritual evil. But it does mean that Jesus wanted His followers to recognise how easily wealth can compete with their devotion to God.
As I continued reading Matthew chapter 6, I came to verse 33.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
There was the answer.
Seek first the Kingdom of God.
Not money first. Not possessions first. Not status first. Not even professional success first.
God’s Kingdom first.
I do not understand this as a promise that every Kingdom citizen who puts God first will automatically become wealthy. Rather, I see Jesus teaching us to trust our heavenly Father and to put His righteousness and purposes above our anxiety about material needs.
That is a very different way of looking at life.
Instead of spending my entire life chasing money and hoping to find purpose along the way, I want to pursue God’s purpose and manage whatever resources He provides faithfully.
Instead of allowing my salary to define my worth, I want to understand the value of the gifts He has placed within me.
Instead of asking only what I can gain from the world, I want to ask what I can give to it.
I am still learning, and I certainly do not have all the answers. Like everyone else, I have financial responsibilities, personal ambitions and moments when I worry about the future.
But this scripture has challenged me to examine what really motivates my life.
I do not want to spend my best years simply working for a paycheck while leaving my God-given potential unexplored.
I do not want to become so focused on earning a living that I forget to live for the purpose for which I was created.
And I certainly do not want to reach the end of my journey only to discover that I allowed money to become the master of a life that was meant to belong to God.
So tomorrow morning, when I wake up and prepare for work, I want to remember that I am going there for more than a salary.
I am going there with gifts, abilities, knowledge and opportunities that God has entrusted to me.
I may not change the entire world in one day. I may not solve every problem or influence every person I meet.
But perhaps I can make one process better, help one person, solve one problem, make one honest decision or contribute one idea that improves the lives of others.
And perhaps, through many ordinary days of faithful service, those small contributions can become part of something much greater than myself.
That, to me, is a life worth waking up for.
As I sit with the words of Jesus, I find myself returning to one question.
If God and money demanded different things from me today, which one would I obey?
I think the answer to that question may reveal more about my life than the amount of money in my bank account ever could.
After all, Jesus did not say that we cannot have money while serving God.
He said we cannot serve both.
And perhaps the greatest tragedy would be to spend our entire lives successfully making money, only to miss the purpose for which God created us.
I want to make a living, yes. But more importantly, I want to make my life count.
— Bata Des
Inspired by Matthew 6:24–34 and my reflections on the Kingdom teachings of the late Dr. Myles Munroe.