1 Tim6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Reading about the Charismatic revival in Nigeria in the 60s and 70s, it was recorded that one of the things that extinguished the fire of revival was the love of money and materialism that crept into the body of Christ. The pursuit of God changed to the pursuit of what God can give. Men began to preach for money, live for money and money became a master instead of being a servant. Matthew 6:24, "No man 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." Mammon is a Syriac deity that symbolizes wealth and materialism. While some persons may not be worshipping Mammon in the shrine, they worship him in their hearts right inside the church using bible in a twisted form to support their worship.
Till today, one demonic ploy of the enemy to water down the truth of the Gospel is when God is presented as a means to an end. Anywhere instant breakthroughs and miracle money is promised may end up with the tag "fastest growing church". People now use the Gospel to preach American dream. Oh! Sorry, the Gospel is not a message about American dream but the life of God. In the days of Jesus Christ on earth, none could put him on the list of richest pastors in the world in their time not because he was poor but simply because His emphasis wasn't on materialism. He wasn't in contest with anyone. His message was simply about the kingdom yet he lacked nothing. Contest and competition is real in today's world because someone wants to be regarded as "the largest", "the biggest" and so on but the desire to be like Christ and to preach Him only is absent. Paul said, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."(1 Cor2:2).
If you attend a church service and you leave with the motivation to pursue wealth and material things only, you have attended a business class not a church. The aftermath of quality sermon in a living church should make you desire Christ more and to be like Him. Paul said, "That I may know Him..." but our generation is saying, "That we may use Him". Jesus warned in Luke12:15, “...Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” How much of wealth and material things you have is not a good measurement of the quality of your life. Stop living for material things and start living for the kingdom. Money is a good servant but a bad master. I always ask, " If believers are chasing what unbelievers have without having God, what difference will the Gospel that we have accepted make in our lives"? Except we want to deny that there are no unbelievers that do not have these things. Our pursuit should be God and His kingdom, other things shall be added. Your salvation is so precious, worth more than gold and silver. Guard it jealously and work it out daily with fear and trembling.
Father, I refuse to be a slave of money in Jesus name.