Jesus also said: “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also . . . You cannot slave for God and for Riches.” (Matthew 6:19-24) Are parents who direct their children primarily toward material goals and worldly careers following this counsel? Is emphasis on worldly success worth the cost if children abandon the truth and adopt unchristian life-styles? Is it worth it to sacrifice or, at the least, to jeopardize their spiritual lives for the sake of “treasures upon the earth”? Parents who do this often find even they are ‘stabbed all over with many pains’ out of concern for their children and of regret over the spiritual​—and sometimes physical—​loss of them.

Jesus also said: “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also . . . You cannot slave for God and for Riches.” (Matthew 6:19-24) Are parents who direct their children primarily toward material goals and worldly careers following this counsel? Is emphasis on worldly success worth the cost if children abandon the truth and adopt unchristian life-styles? Is it worth it to sacrifice or, at the least, to jeopardize their spiritual lives for the sake of “treasures upon the earth”? Parents who do this often find even they are ‘stabbed all over with many pains’ out of concern for their children and of regret over the spiritual​—and sometimes physical—​loss of them.

The love of riches is a demanding master. It exacts people’s time, strength, and abilities; and it chokes out godly devotion. It usually entices people to seek even greater wealth and worldly prestige, thus drawing them ever further from the faith. The Bible rightly says: “A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income.”​—Ecclesiastes 5:10.