Money is Power

“Money is power.” This mantra is proclaimed again and again by businesses, politicians, and marketers. Most of us would have to admit that we give a certain amount of power to money. And if we are honest, most of us would admit that we find it nearly impossible to detangle money and power. So maybe we would do better to focus our energy on how we can make positive use of the power of money. One question to consider is, “What power to lead and influence others can spring forth from a more godly use and management of our resources?”

U.S. society can encourage us to comply with policies and actions that strengthen our own position, wealth, or security—and that also, whether consciously or not, hurt God’s children who are materially poor. This isn’t new to our time. The prophet Isaiah warned:
Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims…

What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when doomsday arrives out of the blue? … What good will your money do you? (Isaiah 10:1,3, from The Message)
What will we say on Judgment Day if our society makes laws that victimize—laws that make misery for the poor, rob destitute people of dignity, exploit the defenseless, take advantage of innocent children?

Speaking out of the same prophetic tradition in the context of Judgment Day, Jesus provides an alternative way to experience the power of money in Matthew 25:31-40. Jesus shows how the power of money and resources can be used to do good for others:

I was hungry and you fed me,I was thirsty and you gave me drink,I was homeless and you gave me a room,I was shivering and you gave me clothes,I was sick and you stopped to visit me,I was in prison and you came to me.

Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.

Money and power, power and money: Maybe they can’t be detangled, but that isn’t all negative. Instead we can listen to Jesus’ words and use the resources we have—as organizations, as families, as individuals—for the good of others.