We are discussing Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Mammon KJV]
In the previous post, we started to see who Mammon is, and what his strategy is to compete with the Lord for our attention and love.
Satan uses our desires, subtle
suggestions, and circumstances to lure us into disobedience to God and
servitude to other gods. Mammon obtains power over us in the same way.
For example, ambition can lead to
disobedience. Suppose a little girl decided to become a doctor. She had the
ambition of meeting the health needs of the community and dreamed of helping
people. She studied hard to become a good doctor. As she started her career,
she submitted to her colleagues’ influence and began to focus on money. This
could change her ambition from becoming a good doctor to becoming a wealthy
one. She now must decide whether to care for the community’s needs or her own.
Should she charge a fair price that the poor of the community can afford, or
should she raise her fees and give care only to those who can afford it?
If she chooses to serve the needs of
the whole community, she will live a comfortable, average life. If she cares
for only the elite, she will become wealthy. Who will command her life: God,
with principles based on love and giving, or Mammon, who emphasizes the
material? The choice between God and Mammon is simple: serve God and obtain
treasure in heaven, or serve Mammon and have treasure only on earth.
We can’t have both. We can’t please
Mammon without following his rules. In the process, we bend or break God’s
rules of love, giving, and righteousness. I often have to choose between
recommending an expensive item or a cheaper one that is just as effective. I
also have the option of pricing items from bulk or individual packaging. Whom
do I want to love, the customer or myself? Which is the right choice in God’s
eyes—and in Mammon’s? Whom do I love most, my neighbour or myself? Is it Mammon
or God?
In contrast with Mammon’s strategies,
we can see a perfect example of God’s methods when we observe Jesus working.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death, even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus became a servant. He was
offered the option of serving Mammon, but He chose instead to live a simple
life, totally dependent on and devoted to Father. He did nothing on His own
behalf. He didn’t arrange for any gain or power, although He could have done so
(Matthew 26:53). Every action He took was for the benefit of those He served
and loved, that is, us and the Father. As His reward, God
exalted Him above all else (Philippians 2:9-11).
Nobody should bow to Mammon. If you
do, you have no part in Christ, for you will hate and despise Him (Matthew
6:24 above). We are to do nothing from rivalry (selfish ambition) or vain
conceit, but instead consider others more significant than ourselves. We should
look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3, 4).
This is contrary to Mammon’s demands.
It tells you always to buy bigger, better, and faster than anyone else. It
tells you to gather as much as you can, play the stock market, and watch your
earnings carefully. This motivates us toward selfish ambition. It is as if a
man crawls on his knees and scrapes together as many gold coins as possible.
Next to him, another man does the same. At their boundaries, a greedy, bloody
battle ensues as they steal coins from each other.
This is the lust for money. If we let it
control us, we bow the knee to Mammon. We may cover or justify our actions with
the excuse that God blessed us with it, that we deserve it or worked for it, or
that business is business. But with that, we tell Mammon that we’ll do whatever
he wants as long as he gives us more of himself. He will gladly do so. He
delights in seeing Christians reject God’s principles.
God’s strategy is for us to become
interdependent on one another through giving and serving. He wants us to stop
competing with one another, trying to be the best and the greatest (as often
occurs in the church). Instead, we should regard others as higher than
ourselves. To be continued.
For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.
No comments:
Post a Comment