Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”
Our Bible verse for today: “You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Be careful not to worship the god of money.”
The common everyday language of Jesus’ day was Aramaic. Hebrew was the language of the Old Testament. The official language of the government was Greek. It crossed cultural boundaries and was therefore known by most people regardless of where they came from. Therefore most of the New Testament was written in Greek. But the everyday conversational language of the people of Palestine in that day was Aramaic.
That being the case, when Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 6:24 during the Sermon on the Mount the word He would have used for money would have been the Aramaic word “Mamonas”. In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as “mammon”.
“Mammon” is a concept which represents the Aramaic understanding of a preoccupation with riches and worldly wealth that leads to unrighteousness and evil conduct. When Jesus said that we cannot serve both God and mammon He was using the concept of mammon as a god that is worshipped and served.
Author Philip Yancey, in his book “Rumors of another World” had an interesting insight about this passage. “Jesus saw money as something to guard against, not desire … He portrayed money as a negative spiritual force, a god named Mammon that pits itself against the kingdom of heaven.”
This is why in 1 Timothy 6:10 the Apostle Paul writes that “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” It is the love of money, not money itself, which is the root of all kinds of evil. Kept in its proper place money, and the things that it can buy, are neutral, they are just tools to be used for a purpose. But when you become preoccupied with the desire for money and for the riches of the world, it then takes on the persona of the demon Mammon and it becomes the driving force for all kinds of evil.
This is a special challenge for Christians who live in the USA. Christians in this country have the highest standard of living of any Christians anywhere in the world. And my goodness, we do like our creature comforts. We do like our big houses, our fancy cars, our refrigerators full of tasty food, our recreational activities, etc. We’re spoiled and we’ve come to expect it as the norm. Therefore we need lots of money in order to continue maintaining our very comfortable lifestyles.
That being the case, money as a neutral tool which can be used for good purposes can easily morph into the demon Mammon who drives us to become preoccupied with an unhealthy lust for more, more, more.
I encourage you to push back against Mammon and his evil intent to be first in your life. I encourage you to intentionally resist his subtle allure. Keep first things first in your life by making the kingdom of God and His righteousness your preoccupation and pursuit. Make Mammon bow before and serve the only One who deserves to be on the throne.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 