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Mammon Mammonas (mam-mo-nas'); Noun Masculine, treasure
riches
Mt 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.
Money, money, money. People lie, cheat, steal, and yes, even kill for it. It truly is the root of all evil.
Not once in the word of God will you find a scripture telling us that it is a good thing. Jesus never said to seek after it.
Jesus never told his Apostles to go out and look for money. In fact, if we keep reading in Mathew chapter six, Jesus tells
his Apostles to not worry about having to buy food or clothing. In verse 32-33, Jesus states: (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things. 33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you.
Remember the rich man who asked Jesus how he could get to heaven? Mt 19:16 And, behold, one came
and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? Mt 19:17
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into
life, keep the commandments. Mt 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt
not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Mt 19:19 Honour thy father and
thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Mt 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these
things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Mt 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect,
go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. Mt
19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
There are two very important revelations here. The first, if you want to worship God, you have to rid yourself
of the things that hold you to this world. The second, is that Jesus doesn't promise riches of this world, he promises those
riches later in heaven. Which helps us understand Mt: 6-33. I have heard a lot of people who claim to be ministers of the
gospel use this verse to justify their own riches. Television evangelists, and even some religions have become wealthy above
imagination because they prey on unsuspecting seekers with promises of wealth because of the mis-use of Christs words. Jesus
said that if you give, it will come back seven fold. Anyone who reads and understands knows that Christ is not referring to
money. There are too many scriptures denoucing wealth. But yet the chuches all say give us your money (tithes), and God will
reward you with riches beyond your wildest dreams. For one thing, tithes are not suppose to pay for a ministers salary or
to build temples made of precious stones. Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there be meat
in mine house and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Where is the promise of wealth in this scripture?
We know that God is not talking about money, like I said before, there are too maney scriptures denouncing it. The blessings
God talks about here are blessings of the soul, not of the physical, but of a spiritual nature. And does it say they tithes
are for building temples? Are they for paying a minster? It says, that there may be meat in mine house. That's
it. End of discussion.
I guess the point I'm trying to get across is, if your minister lives in a 20 room mansion, arrives at your
meetings in an expensive car wearing a six-hundred dollar suit, he isn't working for God. If he was, he wouldn't live like
a king while children go hungry or families live in their cars. He would make sure that he didn't live better than anyone
of Gods children. He would give all he had to the poor around him because his heart would be in pain for them. Like a true
shepherd, he would feed Christ's sheep.
As a final word, I want to explain Mt:6-33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. This scripture is so mis-understood. We are told that if we find the kingdom
of God, we will be given riches. Well, that's true. But where is the kingdom of God. It is in heaven, and won't be here till
Christ's return. So when are we promised these riches? That's right, after Jesus returns.
I hope this message finds it's way to you, and you have ears to hear it. Remember the words of Jesus Christ:
Mt 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God.
Peace to your homes,
Pastor David L. McHaley
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