"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24)

       Jesus was a master logician. And in places where we would place a "both...and...," our Lord is quick to replace our thinking with an "either...or..." A legitimate dilemma is an "either...or..." proposition, best pictured as horns on a bull. Which horn will you choose? You have to pick one. And here in Matthew 6:24, Jesus doesn't mess around with the topic of "mammon" -- a cultural word for WEALTH. He says that His followers must each choose a master -- pick a horn on the bull. You can't keep both of them as lords simultaneously. And the Sermon on the Mount is not the only place He advocates this teaching. After all, is this not the dilemma He set up for the Rich Young Ruler (Matt. 19:16-26) ? Either you continue to serve your wealth or you serve Me? You can't serve both. One will be your master and win out. So, young man, let's go ahead and find out which one wins out right now. And of course he chose mammon as his lord (Matt. 19:22).

       Why is such a dilemma necessary? Why does scholar F. F. Bruce say, "service of mammon and service of God are mutually exclusive"? Perhaps some other Scriptures provide some of the answers. Ephesians 5:5 defines a "covetous man" as "an idolater." Among the vices listed as part of the former life in Colossians 3, "greed" is further described as a form of "idolatry" (Col. 3:5). The message of the passages is clear. THE LOVE OF MONEY CAN EASILY BECOME ONE OF OUR MOST DANGEROUS IDOLS. And it's a sneaky one. How many of us see the padding of our home luxuries, refined tastes, excessive savings accounts, and retirement funds as forms of worship? Bowing down before the almighty dollar? But the reality of our resources, even in a recessed American economy, provides both tremendous opportunity and the danger of greater accountability. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required" (Luke 12:48).

       But here's the good news. MONEY is not the enemy. WEALTH is not even necessarily the enemy. The Bible repeatedly speaks on the necessity of economics, work, production, and trade. But the key is what you do with the wealth, the resources at your disposal. And in our time, I think Jesus would look at us, who are far wealthier than most of Jesus' first century audience, and would simply say, "GIVE." GREED is the enemy. Mammon cannot be your master. It must merely be a resource in service of your one true Master.  

To His Glory,
Caleb