God And Mammon

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:9-15)

Are we trustworthy in small matters?  How about large matters?  Can we be trusted to serve just one master – God?  Money and the seeking of wealth in the form of paper or coin can steer us away from God.  Possessions possess us, and when we say we only serve God, we become dishonest.  Jesus knew this and understood that wealth in the form of spirit and our capacity to love and care was the best kind of wealth.

Do we know our own hearts as God knows them?  If we can be trusted in very small and great matters, we will never be abominations in the sight of God.

Deacon David Pierce