March 28. 2025- Meditation Luke 16:14–31 "Reversed Fate, Speaking of the Essence"

 Luke 16:14–31

"Reversed Fate, Speaking of the Essence"

What is the greatest enemy of our faith? There could be many answers to this question. Broadly speaking, we would say it is Satan. But through Satan, the most prominent enemy that appears in our lives is undoubtedly material wealth. We often say that money is not everything in life, and that happiness doesn't lie in material things. Yet, the very next thing we often say is, "Still, it would be nice to have plenty of money."

What we commonly refer to as the “idol of materialism” is Mammon. This word originally comes from the Aramaic word mamona (מָמוֹנָא), meaning wealth or possessions. It was later adopted into Greek as mammonas (μαμμωνᾶς) and into English as mammon. The Bible describes material wealth as an idol. And among all the idols people are prone to serve as if they were serving God, money is the easiest and most tempting.

In Luke 16:13, which we meditated on yesterday, it says:

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

Jesus specifically mentions God and money as the “two masters.” That’s how easy it is for people to treat money as their master, just as they would serve God. This is why Christians are most vulnerable to, and easily compromise with, material things.

Doesn't it feel like money can solve almost anything at home? Honestly, we even think that money can help us prevent or treat illnesses. We believe that many dreams can be achieved if only we had enough money. On the other hand, when we don’t have money, there are too many things we just can’t do.

But we must be mindful of this: Jesus calls money a “master” that can rival God. The One we are to serve is God, and God alone. He clearly says we cannot serve both God and money. If we claim to live a life of faith and to serve God, but still give significant weight to material wealth, we are in fact trying to serve two masters. And Jesus makes it clear: it’s not actually serving two masters—it’s that we end up making money our true master.

In today’s passage, the Pharisees are described as “lovers of money.” When we read this, we might think of the Pharisees as money-obsessed, willing to do anything for it. But we often think this way to distance ourselves from them, convincing ourselves that we’re not like them.

But we are not different. A life that has God as its master is not swayed by money or possessions. This applies to both our families and our churches. How much money does our household need to feel secure enough to fully turn our hearts to God? There is no end to that. How much funding does the church need to feel safe and worry-free? Again, no end.

Material wealth never satisfies. Even if we have abundant wealth, God can take it away in an instant. No matter how much money we possess, we might never even get to use it.

In Luke 12, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. A rich man fills his barns with grain, and he has so much that he decides to build even bigger barns. He says to himself:

“You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.”

But God says to him:

“You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

Everything depends on God’s sovereignty—both wealth and life. That’s why the only One we are to serve as Master is God. God is the Lord of our possessions, and also the Lord of our very lives.

How are we dividing the weight between God and money in our lives today? How about in our families and in our churches? We must examine this carefully. It’s not about God 90 and money 10. It must be God 100%. That is when we can truly walk in the right direction—both in our personal lives and in the life of the church.

This is not because God will make us rich. It’s because He enables us to serve and live for Him even without wealth. Sometimes, even in poverty, God enables us to rejoice as we serve Him.

Let us be people who do not let materialism seep into our lives, and who truly live with God alone as our Master.