Blind to Slavery

13 No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. – Luke 16:13-15

I’m reading a great book by Timothy Keller right now called Counterfeit Gods (The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power and The Only Hope That Matters) and I read a part the other night where he talks about serving money is actually being a slave to money.

He goes on to say:

Nowhere is this slavery more evident than in the blindness of greedy people to their own materialism. Notice that in Luke 12 Jesus says, “What out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” That’s a remarkable statement. Think of another traditional sin that the Bible warns against – adultery. Jesus doesn’t say, “Be careful you aren’t committing adultery!” He doesn’t have to. When you are in bed with someone else’s spouse – you know it. Halfway through you don’t say, “Oh, wait a minute! I think this is adultery!” You know it is. Yet, even though it is clear that the world is filled with greed and materialism, almost no one thinks it is true of them. They are in denial.