No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Luke 16:13
Introduction
The more you are given, the more is expected of you. This is a common theme throughout scripture (Luke 12:48). I am sure you have heard before, and possibly even experienced yourself, that it is much easier to cry out to God in distress and with nothing left to your name than it is when everything is going smoothly. When the path forward seems clear and straight, the natural inclination is to power ahead under our own strength. After all, even if the specific path forward is new, we have walked similar ones before.
But when times are tough, and the future is unknown, it feels much more natural to turn to the One who is in control of it all. He is the One whose hand guides the paths of kings (Proverbs 21:1) and determines the outcome of chance (Proverbs 16:33). Certainly, then, He will guide you through the times of uncertainty and fear.
This word from the Lord, however, does not give it to us both ways. Either we take our own way all the time or we take His way all the time. You cannot rely on your own providence one day when the weather is calm but the Lord’s way another day when the weather is stormy. He does not promise to be there as a lifeline only in times of need, but commands honor and praise in every circumstance for His faithfulness in all your days.
God or Mammon?
In most modern translations, the term used in this verse is “money” or “wealth”. Historically, though, it was transliterated from the Greek to read, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” That is because the Greek word for wealth here is, itself, a transliteration borrowed from the Aramaic word for the same thing. Translators have wondered if the reason for not simply translating is because “mammon” had more connotation to it than simply a desire to grow one’s net worth.
Perhaps a reason for this is because wealth is not simply an object of desire, but also an object of comfort and promise. With great wealth, one can ensure he is clothed, housed, and fed. With great wealth, one can obtain the best medicine available to lengthen his life. With great wealth, one can gain influence over others and make them bend to his own will. With great wealth, one can shape reality itself to what he desires. Consider the wealthiest people today. They control public discourse, commerce, and war. They exercise such extraordinary power that one might even confuse them for being divine. The “cult of personality” surrounding these people is in the air around us. Love them or hate them, they are names everyone knows.
And so perhaps this is why both Luke and Matthew choose to transliterate Jesus’ words rather than translate them. Because wealth is not merely a thing to lust after. It is a god in its own right: an idol men bow to in the hopes it will bless them with all they desire.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism
But wealth is deceptive. It blesses for a time and then disappears. The abundance of kings is lost in an instant when his shipments sink at sea. The power of investors evaporates when their speculations fail. The strength of a nation fails when others no longer rely on her to trade. Whatever security is found in wealth can be lost in an instant, just as the entirety of Job’s possessions were lost in an instant (Job 1:13-22).
There is a wealth that never fails, however, as it was forged by the very hand of God against an anvil of wood and stood atop a hill for all to look on. The Lord Jesus bore the sin of all who would believe on His own body (1 Peter 2:24), preserving those whom He loves with an everlasting bond through His Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22).
And so it is no wonder that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus that for all who believe there is “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). Because for us, there is no other. No other Lord to whom we look for guidance and comfort, no other faith where we might find hope, and no other baptism to unite us as one people. To comfort yourself in the prospect of wealth which might ease your suffering is the same as abandoning your comfort in the Lord.
Do not do this. Look to the One who has already proven His right over all creation, and hope in His return when He will set all things right (Revelation 21:5).
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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