“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Jesus, recorded in Matthew, NKJV).
What does it mean for someone or something to be deceitful? I’ll spare you the dictionary and use the excuse to talk about The Lord of the Rings. The One Ring is utterly deceitful. It cannot be used – even for good purposes and with good intentions – without it corrupting the bearer. Our wise characters like Gandalf, Galadriel, and Aragorn wouldn’t even touch it for fear of its power to corrupt. Gandalf summed up its deceitfulness like this: 

“With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.” His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. “Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great for my strength. I shall have much need of it. Great perils are before me.” (Fellowship of the Ring)

I think this is very nearly the case with riches. We want to do good just as Gandalf wants the strength to do good. But he recognizes that the power of the Ring is the wrong kind of strength; good will not come of it. Riches are the same way; good will not come of its use and in the end it is more than we have strength to contain. Riches, like the One Ring, even change you over time. You may not turn into Gollum, but it does have an effect: a desensitizing stupor that renders the bearer immune to the suffering of others and consumes them instead with their status and sense of well-being. Rather than turning you invisible when you use it, it turns everyone else invisible to you. 

We need to reject the weapon of the enemy.