Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?
Once again, Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 6:
24 “No one 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.” ESV
The spirit of mammon, an opposing force, tries to get you to look at money the way you are supposed to look to GOD. It wants to be your master, ultimately your god so that you will serve it rather than serving Our Heavenly Father. You will put your faith in your bank account, 401K, and other assets.
If you begin to feel more significant and more secure because you have money in your checking account, that is the spirit of mammon. Your significance and security should come from GOD HIMSELF. The spirit of mammon is very subtle in its attempt to draw us away from The One True GOD.
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Philippians 4:
19 And My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Those who start trusting in money, tend to allow their faith in GOD to subside. They quit looking to HIM for their supply. They look to themselves instead.
Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 12:
16 Then Jesus spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”‘
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
This parable illustrates a person who is serving mammon. He is obsessed with possessing greater wealth rather than giving the excess to those in need. FATHER has no issue with us having a storehouse if we are being led by The Holy Spirit in determining its contents. Some of us need more to fulfill our individual callings. The need is unique for each of us.
It is vital that we seek The Holy Spirit in the management of our individual finances. He knows our future needs… I don’t have a clue to what degree my future needs are. I found out last night that a good friend of mine died yesterday. He and I are the same age and he seemed to be in excellent physical condition. He had a massive heart attack. It was totally unexpected. How much money did he leave behind? All of it! Every one of us has an expiration date so we should focus on what FATHER wants us to do today.
Jesus continued:
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and Your Father knows that you need these things.
31 But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
People are either seeking The Kingdom of GOD or, they are seeking mammon.