“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one or love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
The word "mammon" describes a personification of money & wealth to the point that a person puts their confidence in it. Confidence means "that which is to be trusted". You will naturally seek whatever you believe will provide security, identity, worth, protection and provision. If you don't trust God to be the source of those things then turning to the worldly alternative, mammon, is the most likely choice. This is why Jesus warns us about mammon, because it can so easily become the object of our trust and replace God as the one we worship and serve. Money & wealth may provide many things but it simultaneously takes. It takes our heart & loyalty. We become it's slave by trying to keep it because we think it gives us what we want - security, identity, provision... As a result, mammon becomes the counterfeit to God.
Christians, in general, don't discuss financial problems. We will ask for prayers about all sorts of things, but rarely will we ask someone to pray about our bank account. It is too personal. Too uncomfortable. Too convicting. Most believe finances are a private matter, whether we are doing well in that area or struggling beyond our ability to handle it.
Yet, Jesus brings it right out into the open. In fact, wealth and related topics are mentioned more in Scripture than most any other topic. God has plenty to say about it because He knows it has the potential and ability to steer our hearts away from Him.
It's not about the amount of money you have, but rather the position it holds in your heart.
Jesus warns us about trying to serve two masters because it will divide your loyalties, it will force you to trust one above the other, it will eventually tear you in two. The words Jesus uses in Matthew 6 are words of the soul... "love, hate, hold onto, and despise".
Money & wealth is material, but because it holds the potential to become "that which is to be trusted", it can provoke a spiritual & emotional response in us. Our hearts turn to it because we mistakingly believe it can fill a much deeper need. God's love, character, & promises are enough. Those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:10) Mammon, on the other hand, is just an illusion. Proverbs 23:5 says " Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle."
Mammon has the potential to be an idol, to be the object of our worship. Yet, Jesus makes it clear, you CANNOT serve two masters. It's one or the other... which do you serve?
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