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 (Matthew 6:24).
Many people in the modern western Church just do not understand what it means to be under the spirit of mammon. You can keep on explaining to them till you go blue in the face, as I have done, only to be met by angry rebukes, hostile reactions, and of course, harsh lectures on being gentle, making such lectures full of hypocrisy and absolutely foolish.
These Christians in the west are just hopeless, literally, hopeless when it comes to understanding all kinds of spiritual truths, including the truth about the spirit of mammon. If you speak to them nicely, they will use that of course against you, and confuse you with all their foolishness they sprout. They sprout all kinds of vile, evil, abominable disgusting, wicked foolish ideas such as 'cultural sensitivity', the idea that one should be willing to make compromises with abortion, such as by support a 20 week ban, rather than boldly proclaiming that there is no excuse, or exception for abortion, and that the Bible only commands a person to submit to the government when it is a 'more conservative' one, such as Republicans in US or the Liberal Party in Australia. This is one reason out of a whole myriad of reasons why the modern western Church is full of problems and is so dangerous to the spiritual health of anyone who is actually a true follower of Christ.
However, one such evil foolish idea in the modern western Church which no one dares to even speak about is the idea that one can glorify God by earning more money for oneself, by having a bigger car or house, to show how hard he has worked. Such indeed is the "protest"-ant work ethic. If people in the early Church or medieval Church were to hear such an idea, they would immediately question the Salvation of such as person who espouses such a vile, disgusting, evil, wicked, abominable, hell-deserving, despicable, filthy idea.
You may ask, but isn't the modern western Church more educated than that? How could it ever get its theology wrong? Is it not educated, you may ask. "Educated" you say. Educated fools, is what you really mean. There is a such thing as an educated fool and it is not just those vile, evil, disgusting, abominable, despicable, wicked, hell-deserving secular liberal university professors who are educated fools. Those modern western Christian theologians, who are orthodox, conservative and evangelical and who seek to twist the Bible to justify usury, that is any interest on a loan, just just excessive interest, but any interest on a loan, are educated fools. That is exactly what they are. So much for "theology" education, where one studies the Word of God to feed only the mind, but not the heart.
Studying theology, that is to study the Bible academically, does in no way whatsoever make one grow in the knowledge of the Word of God. It is only by truly seeking God's Word with all one's heart, all one's soul, all one's mind and all one's strength that one grows in knowledge of God.
Knowing the Word of God is a matter of one's heart being submissive to God. No matter how much Hebrew, Greek, or Biblical history one may know, as long as one is not being fully and totally submissive to God, one will not grow in knowledge in the Word of God. Instead, one will only fill up one's fat head with knowledge, but have a heart that is barely beating, almost about to die. It has been said that the Church in the modern west, that is the modern western Church is one that is full of knowledge (and wealth of course, all smug behind its wealth) that does not digest its knowledge. Rather, it only seeks to accumulate more and more knowledge to fill its fat head, but its heart is almost about to die as it does not feed its heart with the Word of God. It has a digestion problem.
The modern western Church, and for that matter, the modern Church in any where else in the world, would do well to understand what Jesus meant when He said that no one can serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). What He means is literally that one cannot seek both God and mammon. Yes, let me repeat it again you who have fat heads, but a heart that is just stubborn, hard, and hostile towards Jesus' teachings on money, but yet, of course, loving His teachings on grace, love and mercy. It means that no one, including pastors, preachers, evangelists and missionaries, can seek both God and mammon. The word 'seek' is used here to have exactly the same meaning as the word 'seek' in
Romans 3:11 which says "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."
The same Greek word for seek, 'zeteo', is used in both Romans 3:11 and Matthew 6:33 which says: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." 'Zeteo' means to strive after, demand or request. Since no one seeks after God by nature, people need to be commanded by Jesus to seek first the Kingdom of God in Matthew 6:33.
What Jesus commanded in Matthew 6:33 was in the context of preaching about what it means to serve God in Matthew 6:24-34. He starts by saying that "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" (Matthew 6:24). It is significant that Jesus specifically singles out mammon as the thing which competes with God to be loved.
Mammon is not like any other idol that a person may love, such as their job, house, car, relationship, education, hobby, family, or children or any other idol. Unlike these idols, mammon is a master. An idol ordinarily is not a master over those who love it more than God. For example, a person who loves his family more than God is not idolising a master. A person who loves his job, not for the money, but for the meaning and satisfaction he gets in serving others is not idolising a master. However, in the case of serving mammon, he who is idolising him, or being seduced by him, despite not wanting to serve him, in the case of the true Christian, is idolising or being seduced by a master. His name is mammon. That is why Jesus calls mammon a master.
A master seeks for servant and wants people to serve him. Such is the case of mammon. When Jesus said no one can serve both God and mammon, He is telling us that it is because it is possible for a person to try to serve both God and mammon that one needs to told that one cannot serve both God and mammon. He knows of the double-mindedness of the human heart which seeks both the promises of God and the (false) promises of mammon, seeking good things from each. However, as He tells us, no can can serve both God and mammon.
A person may try to serve both God and mammon, by seeking both of them, in quest for the good things both give. However, one cannot satisfy the demands of both. In seeking mammon, one cannot seek God. Likewise, in seeking God, one cannot seek mammon for these two masters are diametrically opposed to one another in their demands of their slaves. God demands total self-denial, and complete surrender to him. Mammon demands total self-serving and self-centredness. Since the flesh hates God (Romans 8:7-8) and mammon demands that one feeds on flesh, he who serves or seeks mammon, even to the slightest bit, cannot love God. He can only hate God.
What it means that no one can seek God and seek mammon at the same time does not means that one cannot be trying to do so. What is means is that no one can serve the demands of God and mammon. He will only serve one and he will only seek one. To even think about seeking mammon is itself to not seek God.
Many people in the modern western Church just do not understand what it means to be under the spirit of mammon. You can keep on explaining to them till you go blue in the face, as I have done, only to be met by angry rebukes, hostile reactions, and of course, harsh lectures on being gentle, making such lectures full of hypocrisy and absolutely foolish.
These Christians in the west are just hopeless, literally, hopeless when it comes to understanding all kinds of spiritual truths, including the truth about the spirit of mammon. If you speak to them nicely, they will use that of course against you, and confuse you with all their foolishness they sprout. They sprout all kinds of vile, evil, abominable disgusting, wicked foolish ideas such as 'cultural sensitivity', the idea that one should be willing to make compromises with abortion, such as by support a 20 week ban, rather than boldly proclaiming that there is no excuse, or exception for abortion, and that the Bible only commands a person to submit to the government when it is a 'more conservative' one, such as Republicans in US or the Liberal Party in Australia. This is one reason out of a whole myriad of reasons why the modern western Church is full of problems and is so dangerous to the spiritual health of anyone who is actually a true follower of Christ.
However, one such evil foolish idea in the modern western Church which no one dares to even speak about is the idea that one can glorify God by earning more money for oneself, by having a bigger car or house, to show how hard he has worked. Such indeed is the "protest"-ant work ethic. If people in the early Church or medieval Church were to hear such an idea, they would immediately question the Salvation of such as person who espouses such a vile, disgusting, evil, wicked, abominable, hell-deserving, despicable, filthy idea.
You may ask, but isn't the modern western Church more educated than that? How could it ever get its theology wrong? Is it not educated, you may ask. "Educated" you say. Educated fools, is what you really mean. There is a such thing as an educated fool and it is not just those vile, evil, disgusting, abominable, despicable, wicked, hell-deserving secular liberal university professors who are educated fools. Those modern western Christian theologians, who are orthodox, conservative and evangelical and who seek to twist the Bible to justify usury, that is any interest on a loan, just just excessive interest, but any interest on a loan, are educated fools. That is exactly what they are. So much for "theology" education, where one studies the Word of God to feed only the mind, but not the heart.
Studying theology, that is to study the Bible academically, does in no way whatsoever make one grow in the knowledge of the Word of God. It is only by truly seeking God's Word with all one's heart, all one's soul, all one's mind and all one's strength that one grows in knowledge of God.
Knowing the Word of God is a matter of one's heart being submissive to God. No matter how much Hebrew, Greek, or Biblical history one may know, as long as one is not being fully and totally submissive to God, one will not grow in knowledge in the Word of God. Instead, one will only fill up one's fat head with knowledge, but have a heart that is barely beating, almost about to die. It has been said that the Church in the modern west, that is the modern western Church is one that is full of knowledge (and wealth of course, all smug behind its wealth) that does not digest its knowledge. Rather, it only seeks to accumulate more and more knowledge to fill its fat head, but its heart is almost about to die as it does not feed its heart with the Word of God. It has a digestion problem.
The modern western Church, and for that matter, the modern Church in any where else in the world, would do well to understand what Jesus meant when He said that no one can serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). What He means is literally that one cannot seek both God and mammon. Yes, let me repeat it again you who have fat heads, but a heart that is just stubborn, hard, and hostile towards Jesus' teachings on money, but yet, of course, loving His teachings on grace, love and mercy. It means that no one, including pastors, preachers, evangelists and missionaries, can seek both God and mammon. The word 'seek' is used here to have exactly the same meaning as the word 'seek' in
Romans 3:11 which says "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."
The same Greek word for seek, 'zeteo', is used in both Romans 3:11 and Matthew 6:33 which says: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." 'Zeteo' means to strive after, demand or request. Since no one seeks after God by nature, people need to be commanded by Jesus to seek first the Kingdom of God in Matthew 6:33.
What Jesus commanded in Matthew 6:33 was in the context of preaching about what it means to serve God in Matthew 6:24-34. He starts by saying that "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" (Matthew 6:24). It is significant that Jesus specifically singles out mammon as the thing which competes with God to be loved.
Mammon is not like any other idol that a person may love, such as their job, house, car, relationship, education, hobby, family, or children or any other idol. Unlike these idols, mammon is a master. An idol ordinarily is not a master over those who love it more than God. For example, a person who loves his family more than God is not idolising a master. A person who loves his job, not for the money, but for the meaning and satisfaction he gets in serving others is not idolising a master. However, in the case of serving mammon, he who is idolising him, or being seduced by him, despite not wanting to serve him, in the case of the true Christian, is idolising or being seduced by a master. His name is mammon. That is why Jesus calls mammon a master.
A master seeks for servant and wants people to serve him. Such is the case of mammon. When Jesus said no one can serve both God and mammon, He is telling us that it is because it is possible for a person to try to serve both God and mammon that one needs to told that one cannot serve both God and mammon. He knows of the double-mindedness of the human heart which seeks both the promises of God and the (false) promises of mammon, seeking good things from each. However, as He tells us, no can can serve both God and mammon.
A person may try to serve both God and mammon, by seeking both of them, in quest for the good things both give. However, one cannot satisfy the demands of both. In seeking mammon, one cannot seek God. Likewise, in seeking God, one cannot seek mammon for these two masters are diametrically opposed to one another in their demands of their slaves. God demands total self-denial, and complete surrender to him. Mammon demands total self-serving and self-centredness. Since the flesh hates God (Romans 8:7-8) and mammon demands that one feeds on flesh, he who serves or seeks mammon, even to the slightest bit, cannot love God. He can only hate God.
What it means that no one can seek God and seek mammon at the same time does not means that one cannot be trying to do so. What is means is that no one can serve the demands of God and mammon. He will only serve one and he will only seek one. To even think about seeking mammon is itself to not seek God.
Comments
Post a Comment