A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 41

Chapter 41 – God or Mammon

 

When thinking about the debate between God and Mammon, and whether or not money and love should be mutually exclusive, I’m drawn to the parable of the dishonest manager. You know, the story about the manager who skims money from the land owner, who then finds out and has the manager fired, but before he leaves the manager makes shady deals with all the customers? Ebenezer Scrooge comes to mind, too.

 

According to Eberhard Arnold, “Mammon is the rule of money over people…. Dependence on material affluence and financial security – that is mammon.” (p. 259) The bottom line is that you cannot serve both God and wealth. If all we care about is getting wealthier, our relationships grow less important. We don’t care about the customer, just the customer’s money. That doesn’t mean there is anything inherently wrong with being wealthy. It’s all about what you do with that wealth. Do you hoard it or share it? Are you selfish with it or generous with it?

 

We can’t love God and money, but there needs to be balance. We need to pay the rent, buy shoes and school supplies for the kids, save up for college funds, and make sure we’ll someday be able to retire without burdening those kids. There is nothing inherently wrong with money, but money should never overshadow our values or faith. There is nothing inherently wrong with having wealth, but God calls us to steward our resources faithfully, letting go of the desire to hold on to wealth and, instead, centering our lives on generosity and compassion.