You cannot serve God and money.

"MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON MONEY ALONE." (CF MATTHEW 4: 4).

"Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’

"The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’

"He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’

"And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.....

"The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

"If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” (Luke 16: 1....13).

Sunday September 18th of the 25th week of Ordinary Time.

God ordered us to manage time, talent and treasure that He bestows on us. In this Sunday's Gospel, we see that there will surely be accountability for this enterprise. Money or mammon in this context has always been an area of the greatest trial for most people. Why? Because money in many ways represents "Bread". Bread is the staple of life. When Jesus was tempted about Bread in the Desert, He teaches us:

"Man does not live on bread [money] alone. There is life for him in every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Cf Matthew 4: 4).

How do you know if you are trying to serve God and mammon?

#1 Do you worry too much about money?
#2 Do you do non-essential work on Sunday?
#3 Are you burdened with debt?
#4 Do you give God time every day for prayer?
#5 Do you gamble? Play the lottery?
#6 Do you begrudge the Church your contributions?
#7 Do you worry about the stock market?

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6: 21).
"They multiply their sorrows who court other gods [mammon]" (Psalm 16: 4).

Remember:
"We brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it." (1 Timothy 6: 7).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com