God and Mammon

Sometimes one unexpectedly discovers that sayings which have always been in the back of one’s mind actually originated hundreds of years ago.

One of these is: “No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and mammon.” 

Yesterday’s newspapers reported the case of the Kremlin anti-corruption chief (serving “God”) who was found to have 300 million Euros in his Swiss bank account and 120 million dollars in cash in a family flat (not really). 

Interestingly (see bold above) Jesus went on to speak of the servant/master relationship in terms of hate and love, devotion to the one and despising of the other. Jesus was speaking about a man choosing to serve two masters, loving to serve two masters, devoted to serving two masters.

Jesus said that no man can ever do that. “You cannot serve God and mammon.” That’s quite a shock for most Jersey Christians. After all, we Jersey Christians have been doing that successfully for years….. We can do what Jesus said can’t be done. To prove it, we’ve been successful. Full of success. Like Abraham who was rich.

 

No sooner had Jesus said this to his close followers than the religious and political leaders in those days (the Pharisees), “who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.”

Absolutely right. Like us, these Pharisees were convinced that Jesus was quite wrong. In fact they could prove him wrong. Their love of money had resulted in their being financially successful. Financial success comes from God alone. If God was unhappy with them then God would have stopped them making money. Abraham was rich.

Jesus replied, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Yes, the Pharisees could prove to the public that they were justified in their love of money. The public could see only too clearly how God had blessed them. But no, they were not in fact able to “righteous” themselves before God for one good reason: “For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

What is it that is exalted among men? What is it that, at one and the same time, is an abomination in the sight of God? You answer, please – because this thing is exalted by all of us and you must surely know what it is…… It may even be above money itself.....

 

Jesus then described something which, at that time, was very new on the whole earth. Jesus had a first cousin named John. He was the same age as Jesus and “he preached good news to the people”.  As Jesus said, “Since John the good news of the kingdom of God is preached…” But what about the words Jesus added? “… and everyone forces his way into the kingdom of God.”

Could it be that, ever since John spoke about forgiveness through Jesus, folk found ways to force words to mean what they weren’t intended to mean? By force (as it were) they could convince themselves that they could carry on living by their own morality and for their own gain – and still be Christians.

The next statement of Jesus seems to provide an answer to such twisting of words that allows mammon to rule my life whilst (seemingly but not really) I still enjoy God’s love and forgiveness. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.”

This ancient truth is also from Jesus. To almighty God, His righteousness, His law, His holiness is more important than the whole universe. Is that ridiculous? Maybe – but only to one who loves the one and hates the other.