With Money on Their Minds

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"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Luke 16:13).

In the Old King James version, Jesus gives money a name -- Mammon. In so doing He personifies the god of Materialism, which works to steal our affections away from the One true God. Barnes in his commentary writes, "Mammon is a Syriac word, a name given to an idol worshipped as the god of riches."

Did you know that there is a competition for your heart and soul? It's a winner-take-all contest, and you are the one who will cast the deciding vote. The Lord Jesus calls you to walk with Him in faith, trusting in His word and experiencing His presence daily in many personal and powerful ways. Mammon, on the other hand, holds forth the promise of security through riches; power through wealth; influence through affluence. These two Contestants are incompatible. And both leave the mark of their work upon the lives of their worshippers.

Five things will be unmistakably true of you if you serve Mammon. You will live in constant anxiety over still unmet needs, no matter how much wealth you acquire. You will live in dreadful fear about your financial future, which will cause you to hoard what riches you do possess. You will live in constant doubt about the Lord's love and faithfulness, for your life will be disturbed with the piercing interference of Mammon's suspicious whispers. You will live outside the circle of the Lord's blessing, in disobedience to His word, and will miss the miracle of His hand at work in your finances -- multiplying the bounty of your estate as you increase in generosity. And, finally, your heart will become cynical and suspicious against anyone who says the kind of things I just wrote.

Such are they who spend their days with Money on their mind.

On the other hand, Jesus will fill your life with peace in His provisions, hope in the future, confidence in His love and faithfulness, blessings which abound in your obedience to His word, and a joyful outlook on life that sees the Hand of God at works in everything.

OK. It's time to cast your vote. Which God do you want to serve?
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