Jesus tells a parable about how shrewd (and even dishonest) people who play the wealth game can be. He continues by giving numerous maxims on what it takes to live a faithful life. The strongest admonition is that "you cannot serve God and wealth."
Harvey Cox, an American theologian, has written a book called, The Market as God. In it, he makes a compelling case that the worship of the market, the devotion to wealth accumulation, and the trust that people show in it constitutes it as a religion or faith.
From this perspective, how might we name the power and influence it exerts, our complicity in it, and what it looks like to follow Jesus in this environment. The key is to be intentional about developing a generous heart and way of life so that we do not succomb to the gravity of just looking out for ourselves or our own. One might say, it is about intentionally working out our generosity muscles.
