DAY 25: DO NOT WORSHIP OR SERVE (YOUR) MONEY

No matter who you are, no matter how rich you become, no matter how desperate you become.... Do not serve money, make money serve you.

This is arguably my most important personal finance tip of all. 

It saddens me when I see people who have become slaves to money, their money. They are literally held captive by money. 

When you see a stingy miser, he has been held captive by his money. When you see a 'beggar', who cannot rise above his entitlement mindset, (it doesn't matter how old he is or how much cash he has acquired,) he is a slave to money. When you see a person who was hitherto poor, but then got a hold of some cash but then begins to misbehave, he has money as his master. When you see people who do anything and everything including despicable things just so that they might have money, it saddens me because they have become slaves to mammon.


Unfortunately many people in the world and particularly Nigerians are slaves to money. How do I know? -Their thinking/mindset shows it!

Bible analyst Greg Laurie tells us that about fifteen (15%) of what Jesus said centered around money and possessions, more than his teachings on heaven and hell combined. Up to half of his parables were about money. One in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic. In fact, there are more bible verses on money (> 2000 verses) than on prayer and faith combined (< 1000).

One famous cliche says "Don't be so heaven conscious that you are of no earthly good." What that quote is trying to bring out is that even though you want to make heaven after you die, it does not mean while you are yet alive, you should not be a faithful steward while here on earth (learn about money and handle your finances properly).

God does want any man possessed by his possessions. He wants us to make him proud with the way we handle our finances.

Arguably, Jesus's most important parable about money is found in Luke 16:1-13

Luk 16:1  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

Luk 16:2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Luk 16:3  Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Luk 16:4  I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

Luk 16:5  So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

Luk 16:6  And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

Luk 16:7  Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

Luk 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Luk 16:10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Luk 16:11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Luk 16:12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

For a long time I didn't understand this parable. In fact I gave up hope of getting it. I was confused, why would Jesus commend a corrupt steward? But what I didn't see was that Jesus was not commending a corrupt steward, the master of the steward was! And there is a big difference in that.

Jesus was asking us to learn from the unbelievers in the way they handle money with a common mindset. For example, If a mentor is corrupt, he will like his protégé too to be corrupt, else he will disown him. they both must have the same mindset for them to walk and work together. If a master likes clubbing, then his beloved servant must also like clubbing. Little wonder they say more contracts are won in the club houses on friday nights.

But not Christians, we won't operate with the mindset of our father, yet we call ourselves his children. So Jesus ended the parable by exhorting us, "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

If you want to handle your finances the right way, the God-kind-of-way, then DON'T WORSHIP OR SERVE (YOUR) MONEY...SERVE GOD, THINK LIKE GOD AND HANDLE YOUR FINANCES FAITHFULLY, like God will if he was in your shoes!