Jesus and money

Jesus talked about money an awful lot. Indeed, he talked about it much more than about sex! He used money in illustrations, especially in parables. Jesus used money to teach about the Kingdom of God, about faith, trust, stewardship, authority, judgement, and repentance. But, Jesus was also crystal clear how the love of money (and what it represents) was in conflict with the Kingdom of God.
However, he was not totally negative about money, illustrating how it could be used to bless others and to be used for the good of the Kingdom.

I find it striking that in Jesus time almost anyone was a "daily wage worker". There were no annual salaries, no stock market, no insurance, no retirement funds, or government programs that give money to the poor, unemployed, disabled, widowed, or sick. Every family was just one setback (a major illness, a theft, an accident, or death) away from poverty. There were very few rich people. Furthermore, there were very few people who would have had assets and financial security comparable to the upper middle class in the West today. Jesus teaching about money (and its dangers and potential for good) should be a very sober warning to most Christians in the West, especially to me!