What Jesus Really Said About Money

Most of us have a complicated relationship with money. Some of us worry we’ll never have enough. Others spend their lives chasing after more. And somewhere in between, most of us simply try to make good decisions and live responsibly. But then Jesus enters the conversation—and He takes things deeper than just smart financial planning.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus says something startling: “You cannot serve both God and money.” Depending on the translation, it reads “wealth” or “riches.” But the original word Jesus used was the Aramaic term mammon. This word does more than describe a bank account. It points to a loyalty, a trust, even a kind of worship. And that’s where the conversation really begins.

Jesus wasn’t against wealth. He wasn’t promoting poverty either. He was warning us about the danger of misplaced trust. When He says, “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon,” He’s talking about competing kingdoms. And each one is demanding your heart.

Mammon, in Jesus' time, was more than a word—it was a cultural force. People looked to wealth not just for comfort, but for safety, control, identity, and power. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Jesus is inviting us to ask a piercing question: Who or what are you really trusting to take care of you?

The word mammon doesn’t have a perfect English translation because it’s not just about money—it’s wealth personified. It shows up only a handful of times in Scripture, and always in this context. It refers to wealth as a rival to God. Mammon makes promises it can’t keep: It promises security, happiness, peace, and freedom. But instead of delivering life, it often traps us in a cycle of anxiety, comparison, and never-enough-ness.

That’s why Jesus paints such a vivid picture: Don’t collect treasures here on earth, where moth and rust destroy, but store up treasure in Heaven. Why? Because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

In other words, your heart follows your habits. What you prioritize shapes who you become.

To move from being controlled by wealth to living freely under God, we must understand the biblical idea of stewardship. Stewardship means managing something that ultimately doesn’t belong to you. In the Bible, this idea goes all the way back to Genesis 1.

God creates humanity and gives them a job: “Let them have dominion… let them take charge…” (Genesis 1:26). That language isn’t about domination, it’s about care. We were made to reflect God by managing the world well.

Stewardship is more than a churchy word about giving money. It’s about identity. Being an image-bearer of God means living with a sense of responsibility, not ownership. We manage our time, our talents, our relationships, and yes, our money—with the goal of honoring God and serving others.

Genesis 2 deepens this theme. God tells Adam and Eve that they can eat from any tree—except one. The forbidden tree represents a limit. And here’s the principle: Not everything within your reach is meant for your consumption.

That’s hard to hear in a world where convenience is king and gratification is instant. But this limitation wasn’t punishment—it was protection. It was God saying, “Trust me to tell you what’s enough.”

When they ate from the tree, Adam and Eve didn’t die physically on the spot. But something died—intimacy, innocence, connection. They started hiding from each other and from God. Why? Because they stepped outside the bounds of stewardship and into self-centered consumption.

True stewardship touches every layer of who we are—emotionally, physically, spiritually. How we manage what we’ve been given affects not just our bank accounts, but our well-being and our relationships.

For instance, if our lives are centered around accumulation, we may struggle with comparison, envy, or restlessness. If we’re constantly focused on securing our own future, we might become closed off to the needs of others. That’s why Jesus doesn’t just call us to generosity. He calls us to a new orientation—one where we trust God enough to live open-handed.

Stewardship is tied to the soil. That means your approach to money—and really, your whole life management style—is shaped by where and how you were raised.

Did your family teach you that success meant having more than the neighbors? Did you grow up in scarcity, where every dollar felt like a lifeline? Did your culture celebrate wealth as the ultimate sign of favor or competence?

None of these influences are inherently wrong, but they’re not neutral either. They form the “soil” from which your ideas about stewardship grow. And part of maturing in faith means examining that soil and choosing which habits and beliefs you’ll carry forward.

Let’s be honest: We all want to feel secure. We want to feel like we’ve got enough. But Jesus reminds us that “enough” doesn’t come from the numbers in a savings account. It comes from a trust that God sees us, knows what we need, and is faithful to provide.

When you give generously, it’s not just a financial act—it’s a spiritual declaration: “I don’t trust mammon. I trust God.”

When you budget with wisdom, it’s not just about control—it’s about alignment: “I want my money to reflect my values.”

And when you stop and rest instead of hustling endlessly, you’re declaring: “My worth doesn’t come from how much I produce.”

This brings us back to Jesus’ final warning in the Matthew 6 passage: “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” It’s a line in the sand.

He’s not saying you can’t have wealth. He’s saying wealth can’t have you.

You get to choose who you serve. One master promises power but takes your peace. The other promises peace and gives you purpose. One builds a kingdom that fades. The other invites you into a Kingdom that lasts forever.

And that decision? It’s not a one-time deal. It’s a daily choice. Every purchase, every budget, every act of generosity or selfishness reveals where your trust lies. It’s an opportunity to choose what and who you you’ll trust.

Following Jesus means, sooner or later, you’ll have to deal with how you handle money. Not because God wants to take something from you. But because He wants something for you—freedom.

Freedom from fear. Freedom from greed. Freedom from the exhausting race to keep up and get ahead.

That’s the promise hidden in Jesus’ teaching: “Store up treasures in heaven.” When your treasure is in God’s Kingdom—when your time, money, and energy are aimed at loving others and honoring God—your heart follows. And your life begins to reflect the peace and joy Jesus offers.

What story is your money telling about your heart?