You cannot maximize both God and money

Matthew 6:19-24 frames life as a constrained maximization problem involving God and money. Which will be your constraint, and which will you maximize?

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

What does this mean? Jesus frames life as service to either God or money. Money buys power, so the pursuit of money is about building oneself up. Jesus’ framing boils down to pursuing more for ourselves vs. pursuing more of God.

Jesus doesn’t say you shouldn’t use money. He says not to build it up, want it, and pursue it. Don’t chase money. Practically speaking, of course, we need to support ourselves, but that’s not the thing to worry about. Chase God.

Jesus is framing life as a constrained maximization problem. People have basic material needs and moral lines they won’t cross, like…punching a baby? God and money both present us with constraints. But given that we’ve met those constraints, what should we chase?

Chasing money looks like somebody who meets their moral obligations while taking on the world. Depending on how they define their moral obligations, we might think of them as a perfectly good person. But they aspire to unlimited increase of their own power.

Chasing God looks like somebody who provides for their household, but their heart is after God. Given the opportunity, they want to build up the Kingdom of God, not their own power.

It’s a dynamic constrained maximization problem.

Each person defines their own constraints with respect to material well-being and connection to God. What if you would want to chase God, but meeting your financial constraints takes all your energy? Like the proverbial beggar stealing bread to eat? That example lets most of us off the hook though. It’s more like the middle manager ignoring needs around her to pay off her McMansion.

I recently took a mortgage to buy a house. We moved to a nice house in a good school district to give our three kids a decent education. Life is mega expensive.

The “rich young ruler” in Matthew 19 came to Jesus and said, “I’ve met all the moral constraints set out for me in the Torah. What must I do to be saved?” Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and follow me.” Jesus didn’t simply say, “Switch from maximizing money to maximizing God.” He instructed the guy to lower his perceived material constraints along with maximizing God.

So we don’t simply face a static constrained maximization problem – it’s dynamic. We make choices along the way about what constraints to place on ourselves. Minimizing our material constraints can free us to serve God better. Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 7, suggesting that people consider avoiding marriage to keep themselves free to serve God. “I would like you to be free from concern. […] An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”

About the constraints

Some material constraints are not unbiblical. Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” In a situation where we have access to financing and people are expected to pay for their retirement and big milestones for their kids like college and weddings, failing to save for them if you are able is irresponsible.

Other places, it warns about pursuing too much asceticism, beyond what we can bear. Be honest with yourself. Ecclesiastes 7 says “Do not be over-righteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool—why die before your time?” Earlier in 1 Corinthians 7, Paul also says, “I wish that all of you were [single] as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”

Why Not Maximize a Balance of God and Money?

If pursuing God and money were unrelated concepts, one could balance the two goals. Like manufacturing guns and butter.

Instead they undermine each other. We are described as servants or children in God’s household. An idealized servant’s goals are fully aligned to his master’s goals. Pursuing money is analogous to a servant doing what is best for himself rather than what helps his master.

An idealized servant is constrained by his own needs, even while pursuing his master’s goals. The servant wakes up, brushes his teeth, eats breakfast, and goes about his master’s business.

Conclusion

Keep a lid on your present and planned consumption. Meet those constraints, but do not aspire to unlimited wealth. Set a financial goal and aspire to how you can serve God even more once you’ve met that goal. Also, saving for the future is stochastic, so decreasing risk costs money. Keeping a lid on consumption applies to the level of risk we accept. The next verse says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink.” God is presented as taking care of our risk.

Decide for yourself what minimum financial constraints you can accept. And realize that, even if you can’t meet them, God will take care of each of us. Psalm 73 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Aspire to how you can serve and be with God.