13  "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."

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God never says that money itself is evil. Indeed, some of the greatest men in the Bible were extremely wealthy (Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon--to name a few). But God does warn us about the danger of loving money. Because a person's personal worth is often measured by annual income and personal assets, it's easy for us to develop a fondness for money.

But we need to beware. Money is a tool to be used, not an entity to be loved over all else. In this passage Jesus clearly states that, as Christians, we're to love and serve our true Master--God himself--first and use our money for his kingdom work. One of the best ways to overcome a love of money is to give generously to the Lord's work and to the needy. To keep this area of your life in balance, be sure that your financial plan involves regular and generous giving.