No Servant Can Serve Two Masters

 "'No servant can serve two masters.  Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt.  You cannot give yourself both to GOD and to Money.'

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at JESUS.  HE said to them, 'You do your best to be considered righteous by people.  But GOD knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by GOD.'" - Luke 16:13-15 

(The Pharisees, heard all this and sneered at JESUS.  More than the other evangelists, Luke notes the incompatibility between the religion and love of money.  The Pharisees could justify their love of money by quoting some saying from the Scripture.  In fact, in the beginning the Jews saw wealth as a blessing from GOD.  It seemed just to them that GOD should reward in this way those who are faithful to HIM when they know how to deal with the riches of this world.  Then, with the passing of time, they came to see that money was more of a danger and that, often, it was the privilege of those without faith [Psalm 49, Job].

Nevertheless, as soon as someone has money he is convinced that he possesses truth, and thus the Pharisees felt authorized to judge and decide on things of GOD.  After them, many Christians belonging to influential circles have wished to use money and power for the service of the kingdom of GOD and quickly established themselves as managers.  Money in turn possesses those who possess it.  Very soon one is ready to approve a moral order that justifies one's own privileges and forgets the Gospel values of justice, humility and poverty.  In the end, it is the Church itself that is despised by those who seek GOD.

Why have so many people of humble origin felt inferior to the rich in the church?  They got used to seeing the rich heading church organizations and accustomed to receiving the word of GOD from them, in spite of JESUS' warnings.)

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