God or Money
“No one can serve two masters. . . .
You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:24
In biblical times, the Romans had many gods. The Roman god of love was Venus, and the god of war was Mars. To many of us, those are just the names of a couple of planets. But to a Roman army, it was crucial to sacrifice to Mars and pray for victory before going into battle. And a young Roman man would pray to Venus that the woman who had stolen his heart would return his love.
The ancient Syrians also had many gods, and their god of wealth and prosperity was called Mammon. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived in Galilee, which was just across the border from Syria, and He, like all the Jews, knew about Mammon. This was a false god that represented the love of money and the material wealth and comforts and power it might buy. The Lord also knew that you cannot have any other god alongside the Creator of heaven and earth. That would be idolatry. In His Sermon On The Mount, the Lord Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”
Idolatry always involves a different way of looking at the world and doing business. Gradually the idol takes over. Greed and worry, accompany so much of the pursuit of prosperity today, replace the moral guidelines of the Bible, and calm trust in God’s blessing disappears along with them. Trampled human relationships and nervous breakdowns are sometimes signs of that, somewhere along the line, serving Mammon has squeezed out serving God.
Who are you serving today?
Read
Matthew 6:19-24..
Prayer
Lord God, earning a living is an important part of daily life. Help me to serve You alone, and to trust You for my daily bread. Amen.
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