Jim Cymbala

The first century money changers were in the temple, but they didn’t have the spirit of the temple… They were out of sync with the whole purpose of the Lord’s house. “The atmosphere of my Father’s house,” Jesus seemed to say, “is to be prayer. The aroma around my Father must be that of people opening their hearts in worship and supplication. This is not a place to make a buck. This is a house for calling on the Lord.

John Mark Comer

Shopping is now the number one leisure activity in America, usurping the place previously held by religion. Amazon.com is the new temple. The Visa statement is the new altar. Double-clicking is the new liturgy. Lifestyle bloggers are the priests and priestesses. Money is the new god. There’s a reason the only other god Jesus ever called out by name was Mammon—the god of money – because it’s a bad god and a lousy religion.

Julia Loren

If we live in God’s value system, we begin to learn that love has both emotional expressions and material expressions. Financial prosperity positions us to either hoard up wealth for ourselves and live comfortably in this life or release greater expressions of God’s love toward others. Jesus told one rich young man to give all his wealth away if he wanted to consider himself a follower of Jesus. But the young man chose instead to walk away from following God and retain his wealth in this lifetime—forsaking the true wealth that could have been his (see Matthew 19:16-24). He valued his money over a relationship with Jesus.