Luke 12:14-15(NKJV) 14But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
This week we have been looking at how to pull down the god of mammon. Jesus said in Luke 16:13 that we cannot serve two masters. He called these potential masters God and mammon. Mammon is wealth personified and greed deified. As I look at our society, I can see mammon as one of the false gods that is controlling our culture. In order to be free to prosper, I believe it is imperative that we destroy this false god’s ability to be a controlling factor in our lives.
We can pull down the god of mammon by doing three things. First, we must make a quality decision to be good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us. Although this can mean that we should be wise in how we handle our finances in the natural, Jesus indicates good stewardship is more than that. The godly steward is one who, first of all, makes his wealth available for the preaching for the Gospel. When this is the most important consideration of how we handle our money, it will hinder the ability of the god of mammon from controlling us.
Second, we must cast our care or worry on the Lord. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (AMP) says he cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully. Matthew 6 tells us the Father knows what we need. If we seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, the Father will provide for those needs. When we eliminate worry from the equation, we take away a major tool that the god of mammon uses against us.
Finally, Jesus tells us that we must beware of covetousness. Webster defines covetousness as being marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another’s possessions or someone having a craving for possessions. Thayer’s Greek Definitions says it is a greedy desire to have more. Jesus said it is our enemy. Mammon is greed deified. If we allow covetousness in any form, we are worshiping the god of mammon.
The problem we face is that a great deal of our culture is built on covetousness. Capitalism should be about finding needs and meeting those needs. When it is, capitalism is the best human economic system. In a sense, it taps into the power of giving. An investment must be made to create something that meets a human need. Since the investment must come first, the investment is a form of sowing. The Bible says that when we sow, we shall reap. An investment that produces something that really meets a need will produce a profit. Capitalism works best when it is undergirded by biblical motivation.
In much of the world today, we find ourselves in a situation where many of life’s needs are already met. People still want to make money. Too often greed, not the desire to provide for our families and certainly not the desire to meet the needs of people, fuels our capitalist system. In order to create a demand for products that may or may not be beneficial, companies use advertising to stir up covetousness, a greedy desire to have more and more. In the end we buy what we do not need with money we do not have.
Once we have what advertising artificially caused us to need, the company must create a new desire for a newer and better product so our covetousness will once again compel us to buy. Soon our perfectly good thing is obsolete and we “must have” the newer one. There is nothing wrong with the capitalist system. I believe we have simply allowed the god of mammon to take control of it.
It is unrealistic to think this process will never affect us. The business world is not going to change now. I pray that some strong Christian people who understand the right motivations will start to build or take control of some businesses, but most will remain under the influence of the god of mammon. In today’s world of revolutionary technical development, we are always going to be confronted with newer and better products. It is normal to want some of those things and sometimes we may actually need them. This applies to everything from clothes to cars to the latest type of food.
There is nothing wrong with any of this until we allow it to control us. How do I know if the desires I have for things is covetousness? When we will compromise to get the new thing, it is covetousness. When we are jealous of what someone else has and that is why we must have the new thing, we are in covetousness. When we will spend money we should not spend to buy something we do not really need it is covetousness. Beware of covetousness.
How can we make sure we do not give in to this trap of the god of mammon? Jesus tells us how in Luke 12:15 and the subsequent parable. In verse 14 Jesus asks a man, “Who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” The man had a dispute with his brother. Covetousness had divided a family. He tells this misguided brother, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
In America, we seem to think life is about the toys. This reminds me of a bumper sticker I have seen which says, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” This is just a tongue in cheek joke, but the ramifications are tragic. We are living in a debt culture fueled by a covetousness that is tearing apart families and causing many to feel no need whatsoever for the Lord. He who dies with the most toys but without salvation spends eternity in hell.
In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells a parable about a rich man. Instead of finding a way to be generous, he decides to build bigger barns to hold his wealth. That same night the man’s soul is required of him. He is going to die and his full barns can not save him. God says to the man, “You are a fool. Who will all your goods benefit now?” Jesus then makes this statement to his listeners;
Luke 12:21(NKJV) 21“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
We must make a decision to be rich toward God. We can have nice things. We can even have things we do not need. Anyone who knows me knows I like toys. However, what place do the toys hold in our lives? What will we do to get them? We must take a hard look at whom or what is in control. Covetousness is the main driving force behind the god of mammon. The more we are rich toward our rightful master, Jesus, the less vulnerable we will be to the god of mammon.
Remember Matthew 6:33. Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. If you put God’s kingdom first than you are putting Jesus lordship before any other controlling factor. The god of mammon will not be able to control you. The promise of the Father associated with this action is that he will provide everything you need. He will even allow you to have some things you want. The toys you get that way will be a blessing and not a curse.
Your needs and the needs of your family will be protected by your submission to the true provider and Lord of your life. The god of mammon will only destroy his worshipers. The Father God will bless his children beyond measure. In this world of economic turmoil we can be, we must be, a light of a different kind of lifestyle. This light will lead many to reject the god of mammon and receive the salvation of Jesus Christ. That is the real purpose of our prosperity.
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