What is mammon?

If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (Lk. 16:11 KJV).

What is mammon, as referred to in the scripture above? According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, mammon is a “word borrowed from the Aramaic language in the time of Jesus and the early church” that “refers to wealth or property”. Please note that the word mammon in itself does not necessarily carry an evil connotation. Wealth and property are not evil in themselves.

It is easy to miss Jesus’ important lesson about mammon. He asked “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”. First, He distinguished natural riches from true, spiritual riches. Secondly, He explicitly stated that our faithfulness with spiritual things can be predicted through our faithfulness with money. We will clearly see our true spiritual faithfulness, only after we’ve honestly looked at how faithfully we handle our finances, according to God’s instructions.

Our money speaks. It is our responsibility to listen. Money is precious to all of us, but we must love God with our money, and use it to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters. If you can’t use your money to advance His Kingdom, as He commanded, then you may have a hard time convincing the heavenly council that you truly love God!

MEDITATE

Why do we give money so much respect? (Clue: think of what your life would be if all your money was suddenly taken away).

APPLY THE WORD

I encourage you to spend a few moments thinking about your money habits, (giving, spending, saving) and see what your habits reveal about your spiritual life.

PRAY

Ask the Spirit to help you grow in faithfulness and integrity, both with mammon, and in spiritual things.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Mammon. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1384). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Recommended Read: The Gift of Wealth

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