Many things about our natural lives conflict with our spiritual lives. Living by the spirit in a natural and often enticing world isn't easy. Even the apostle Paul confessed, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." (Romans 7:15 NLT) One of the challenges we have to contend with is wealth and how we, as Christians, should relate to it.

Remember when you learned to drive? You had to concentrate constantly on your steering, the foot pressure on the accelerator, and how much pressure to apply when breaking while constantly scanning your mirrors. It took intense focus, and having a drivers-ed teacher, or worse, a parent continually watching and judging your performance, it's a miracle you got through it! But you did get through it. After years of learning and gaining experience, you've developed a routine, a habit, that makes driving easy. The same can be true about developing good money habits.

One of the biggest challenges any stewardship ministry faces is the need to address the entire congregation regardless of financial standing. Some programs assume that all their participants struggle with debt; others assume that everyone has surplus to give. And likely, there are people in both of these camps in your congregation, as well as people between the extremes.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus begins by talking about wealth and where we should and should not store it. He then says something strange about the eye being the lamp of the body and its connection to light and darkness, which seems to be a shift away from the original topic of wealth. He then returns to the subject and says that you cannot serve God and mammon. Did Jesus veer off-topic, or is there an important connection we need to understand in this text?