Jesus showed His followers how to avoid this addiction, and how to break it when it has taken hold of their souls. The Gospel of Luke, more than the other Gospels, pictures Jesus as adamant about the illegitimacy of men's quest for earthly riches. If so, the church is in rebellion, and has been for almost two thousand years. Jesus' message on riches creates problems for Christians who seek to extend the influence of the kingdom of God in history. In this world, influence comes from money.
Money buys influence.
Jesus did not call His followers to retreat from the affairs of this world. Jesus laid down principles of personal economic management for His followers. His words regarding the proper use of treasure have not been obeyed by His people in the twentieth century. This had better change in the twenty-first.