The Spirit Of Mammon/ MANOAH'S WIFE
Matthew 6:24… “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (KJV).
Mammon is more than just money. A lot of folks do not understand this. Some translations of the Bible translate this verse as “You cannot serve God and money.” This may be true, but is that what Jesus is teaching? “Mammon” comes from an Aramaic word that refers to the desire to pursue wealth as a primary purpose or goal. The origin of the word “mammon” comes from the Chaldeans (Babylon). The spirit of mammon is a spirit of Satan who tries to seduce us by getting us to put money before God. Webster’s dictionary defines “Mammon” as the false god of riches and greed. The devil tried to seduce Jesus with a mammon spirit when he offered Jesus the wealth and kingdoms of this world (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon is one of the rulers of the spirit of this world. Most believers do not consider themselves to be worshippers of money. They claim to be worshippers of God, but sometimes the spirit of mammon slips in.
You are worshipping mammon if these signs upon you…
a) Anxiety over unmet needs… One of God’s names is Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord my Provider. When we buy into the spirit of mammon’s philosophy, we live under the banner of hopelessness, under the banner of financial fantasies where greed takes over, and we end up in materialism.
b) Fear about the future… Mammon cannot control the future. That is in God’s hands. God extends His hands toward you and supplies your every need (Psalm 104:28).
c) The spirit of mammon works your unbelief… Mammon will tell you that the Lord’s ways are foolish and outdated. The spirit of mammon will get you to stop tithing or will convince you that tithing puts you under the law, not grace. The spirit of mammon will bring envy into your heart and will lead you into lies and cheating. The spirit of mammon will tell you that God does not love you…
d) The spirit of mammon will bring disobedience into your life… We are stewards of God. God wants us to prosper. God wants us to be generous; Mammon wants us to be selfish. Mammon wants to bind us; God wants to free us to follow His word. Mammon brings a curse; God brings a blessing.
e) The spirit of mammon derides you for trusting in God… When Jesus ended His teaching on stewardship (Luke 16:14-15), the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, derided Jesus. The word “derided” in today’s vernacular would mean that “they turned up their noses and mocked Jesus.” Paul writes that we wrestle against these spirits that will not give God first place (Ephesians 6:10-12). The spirit of mammon tries to dominate you.
f) Other signs of the spirit of mammon… One of them is determining success by how much money you are making. Another is living as consumers and not stewards, or having money and thinking you have the right and power to do anything that you want to. The spirit of mammon gives you a mentality that you have a right to a certain standard of living. You expect the government to help you or care for you when something goes wrong. The spirit of mammon causes to you live beyond your means, on the edge financially, and in the end, you lose it all. Choosing to live the life of mammon brings judgment (Deuteronomy 28).
The choice is yours… What will it be?
Pastor George Belobaba
No comments:
Post a Comment