Is Money Your Master—or Your Servant? How to Put God First in Your Finances
Everyone is mastering something: a trade, an instrument, a craft. But the hard truth is that while we try to master things, some things quietly start mastering us. The Bible warns that money is a powerful tool—but a terrible master. Jesus said plainly: “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
How do believers move money from the throne back to the toolbox?
The Battle For Mastery Is A Battle For The Heart
Jesus diagnoses the symptoms: anxious budgeting, restless comparison, fear about food, clothing, and tomorrow (Matthew 6:25–34). Those aren’t just financial issues; they’re heart issues. Anxiety exposes what we trust. If money owns our peace, it has begun to own our heart. Christ invites a different posture: seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and trust the Father to provide what you need (Matthew 6:33).
Paul’s X-ray Of The Inner Life
Paul traces the drift in 1 Timothy 6: a disordered will (“those who want to get rich”), disordered desires (cravings that deceive), and disordered love (“the love of money” as a root of many kinds of evil). The fruit is predictable: traps, ruin, grief, wandering. The good news? The way back is clear: flee what entangles, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness, and fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:9–12).
God-First Is Learned Through Firstfruits
Scripture trains the heart with practices, not just principles. From the beginning, worship involved first things. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock (Genesis 4). Wisdom calls us to “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9–10). Tithing and generosity aren’t divine taxes; they are teachers. As Deuteronomy 14:23 (LB) puts it, the purpose of tithing is to teach us to put God first. Returning the first portion before all the numbers “make sense” trains the heart to trust the Father more than the forecast.
Hope For Real Households
Scripture neither glamorizes poverty nor idolizes wealth. It reorders both. Paul instructs the “rich in this present world” not to trust in uncertainty but in God—and to “do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share” (1 Timothy 6:17–19). That’s how believers “take hold of the life that is truly life.” For households under pressure—debt, job loss, strained relationships—the Lord invites both spiritual reordering (God first) and practical steps (wise counsel, shared prayer, honest support).
The Invitation
Money makes a cruel master but an excellent servant. In Jesus, the Spirit untangles the heart: worry gives way to worship, striving to surrender, and fear to faith. Put God first. Flee, pursue, and fight. Practice firstfruits. And watch the Father prove again that He “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17)—not to own us, but to free us for generosity and good works.
Read Matthew 6:24–34. Which worry (needs, tomorrow, comparison) most reveals where your trust drifts—and what “seek first” step could realign your heart this week?
In 1 Timothy 6:9–12, Paul says “flee… pursue… fight.” What does each verb look like in your real finances and habits?
How do firstfruits (Genesis 4; Proverbs 3:9–10; Deuteronomy 14:23 LB) practically train a believer to put God first before the budget balances?
According to 1 Timothy 6:17–19, what are two concrete ways you can be “rich in good deeds” and “willing to share” this month?
Where have you seen God’s faithfulness supply needs when you chose obedience first (Matthew 6:33)?