God, Money, and Power
In a world obsessed with what we can earn, control, or own, it’s what we accumulate internally that determines the peace and fulfillment we get to keep.
We all come from the same source code of spiritual energy.
Then we get dropped into this physical experience we call life, the ultimate multiplayer role-playing game.
We enter it through different “hardware suits”, skin color, gender, geography, family structure, and cultural codes. We arrive inside a tradition (team) that does its best to explain the rules of the game to us.
For instance, I entered this world as a red-haired, pale-skinned meat suit in 1975 into an East Coast American family steeped in working-class values and a Catholic tradition. I was taught the stories, recited the prayers, got the sacraments, and kneeled.
But where your story begins doesn’t define your life. It just shapes your origin story. As a young adult, I embarked on a philosophical expedition, reading voraciously, studying science, numerology, and exploring other religious teachings, as well as business books and a wide range of subjects.
As I approach 50, what I’ve come to learn through wins, losses, ego checks, and moments of grace is that the common pursuit of God, money, and power is as old as humanity. It’s also the biggest mirror we’ll ever face.
Only one of these three can fill the pesky hole inside of us. The other two? They simply amplify what’s already there, for better or worse.
What Religion Taught Us About Money
Across centuries, cultures, and scriptures, a similar theme echoes: money and power aren’t inherently evil, but they are spiritual stress tests.
Even Christian theology adopted the language of economics with Christ as the currency of redemption, God as a divine bookkeeper reconciling the debts of humanity.
Across ancient societies, money began as something sacred. Coins bore the images of gods. Economic power and divine authority were not separate; they were mutually reinforcing.
When Business Becomes Your Monastery
I don’t kneel in pews much anymore, but I find God in my work.
Business is my monastery. Market cycles are my parables. Every deal tests something inside me—ego, trust, fear, greed, and humility. Every new deal is an invitation to surrender control, face risk, and build not just capital, but character.
Character is best defined by who you are (and what you do) when you think nobody is watching.
Because if you’re awake enough, the grind of it all will expose your soul. And that’s where the spiritual journey truly begins.
Viktor Frankl: Meaning as the Anchor
This deeper understanding clicked for me more clearly after reading Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and author of Man’s Search for Meaning.
Frankl survived Nazi concentration camps not just by chance, but by conviction. He observed that the prisoners who were most likely to survive were those who found meaning, even in their suffering. Whether through love, purpose, or spiritual strength, meaning became their lifeline.
He later developed a philosophy known as logotherapy, grounded in one central truth: The search for meaning is the primary motivation of human life.
Key takeaways from his work that resonate in today’s high-performance, materialistic world:
Meaning is Central to Survival – People endure far more than they expect when they believe their pain matters.
Freedom of Attitude – Even in bondage, you can choose your response.
Three Paths to Meaning – Work, love, and suffering are all doorways to spiritual strength.
Paradoxical Intention – Sometimes, facing your greatest fear head-on is what frees you.
Frankl’s perspective is especially relevant in an age where many of us have material comfort but unexplained (spiritual) emptiness. You can have money and power and still lose your soul if you’re not anchored in meaning.
And for those of us who operate in capital markets, politics, business, or the world of influence, this message hits like a thunderclap: If your power and money don’t serve something higher, it will eventually devour you from within.
AI, Collapsing Trust, and the New Search for Meaning
Today, the conversation isn’t just philosophical, it’s urgent.
We’ve entered an era where AI is becoming our oracle and Bitcoin is becoming our scripture. We don’t trust our institutions anymore. We trust algorithms. Blockchain networks. Peer groups. Our feeds.
But meaning doesn’t come from automation. It comes from alignment.
If you’re using AI, great. But if you’re asking it questions that only your soul was designed to answer, pause. Get into nature. Reconnect. Be Silent without the AirPods. Reflect. Prompt your own spirit before you prompt the Large Language Model.
Similarly, Bitcoin may be the fix to broken money, but it won’t fix what is broken inside of you, no matter how many Satoshis you stack.
The Quiet Epidemic of the Successful Yet Empty
Here’s what I know from multiple recent conversations with friends, clients, and high-performing men and women in their prime:
They’re succeeding outwardly, but suffocating inside. Or, they recently suffered a setback (loss of money, power, or both) and feel like they have “lost everything.”
They’re rich, but restless.
Their power has increased, but their peace has vanished.
This is the modern dilemma. And it’s why Frankl’s message is more essential than ever: meaning, not comfort, is what we’re here for.
So yes, pursue money and wealth. Wield power. Build legacy.
But do it from the inside out. Do it with God, or whatever higher truth you know to be real, as your center.
Because when the world shakes (and it will), it’s the meaning in your work, the love in your relationships, and the truth in your suffering that will carry you forward.
Choose Your Source and Be a Good Steward
If God, money, and power are on the table (and they are), you must choose which one is your source and which ones are simply tools.
Money will echo your values. Power will magnify your soul’s current state. But only your direct and personal connection to God (and meaning) will remain when everything else disappears.
And maybe that’s the ultimate role of all three.
Not to replace one another… but to reveal who we’ve become on this temporary journey our souls take in the physical realm as we navigate through life’s multiple levels, boss battles, and NPCs (non-player characters).
In the end, the highest expression of wealth, power, and even belief is stewardship—the conscious, intentional management of what we’ve been entrusted with. Stewardship is what transforms meaning into legacy. It’s the practice of building, protecting, and multiplying something greater than ourselves, not just for accumulation’s sake, but to serve others, shape culture, and secure freedom across generations.
That is the real endgame—not ownership, but responsibility. Not empire, but impact.
If you’re ready to design a life around those principles, I invite you to upgrade today and unlock a bonus of pre-release chapter drops of The Rockefeller Method Rewired. The first 21 will also get a Special Edition signed hardback and a minted copy of the book after its October 28th, 2025 global release.
Subscribe now to receive early access to each chapter drop and begin building a life that compounds meaning, not just money.
Yours in wealth and health,
~Chris J Snook
Related Posts
Sources
Rich and Faithful? What Religions Say About Money | Big Think
Angel Investors: How Religion Changes Our Perspective on Money | LinkedIn






I am also a Viktor Frankl fan. To meaning! Best wishes for success with your book 🙏🏽
https://poetpastor.substack.com/p/i-will-not-let-go?r=5gejob