God or Mammon (MLJ)

There are, sadly, not enough biblically saturated prophetic preachers around these days to deliver the messages we need to hear In the way we need to hear them. Thus we quote the men that would dare to do such. Martyn Lloyd Jones is one of those men. In one of a series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount he preaches prophetically on the relationship between God and money as highlighted by Christ in this stunning message of 2000 years ago:

"We must remember that the way in which we look at these things ultimately determines our relationship to God. “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.” This is indeed a very solemn thing, and that is why it is dealt with so frequently in Scripture. The truth of this proposition is obvious. Both make a totalitarian demand upon us. Worldly things really do make a totalitarian demand as we have seen. How they tend to grip the entire personality and affect us everywhere! They demand our entire devotion; they want us to live for them absolutely. Yes, but so does God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” Not in a material sense necessarily, but in some sense or other He says to us all, “Go, sell all that thou hast, and come, follow me.” “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” It is a totalitarian demand. Notice it again in verse 24: “Either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” It is “either—or” compromise is completely impossible at this point. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

There is a perfect illustration of that in the Old Testament. Study carefully 2 Kings 17:24-41. H ere is what we are told. The Assyrians conquered some area; then they took their own people and settled them in that area. These Assyrians of course did not worship God. Then some lions came and destroyed their property. “This”, they said, “has happened to us because we do not worship the God of this particular land. We will get priestly instruction on this.” So they found a priest who instructed them generally in the religion of Israel. And then they thought that all would be well. But this is what Scripture said about them: they “feared the Lord, and served their graven images.” What a terrible thing that is. It alarms me. It is not what we say that matters. In the last day, many shall say, “Lord, Lord, have we not done this, that and the other?” But He will say unto them, “I never knew you.” “Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father.” Whom do you serve? That is the question, and it is either God or mammon. There is nothing in the last analysis that is so insulting to God as to take His name upon us and yet to show clearly that we are serving mammon in some shape or form. That is the most terrible thing of all. It is the greatest insult to God; and how easily and unconsciously we can all become guilty of this.

I remember once hearing a preacher tell a story which he assured us was simple, literal truth. It illustrates perfectly the point which we are considering. It is the story of a farmer who one day went happily and with great joy in his heart to report to his wife and family that their best cow had given birth to twin calves, one red and one white. And he said, “You know I have suddenly had a feeling and impulse that we must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will bring them up together, and when the time comes we will sell one and keep the proceeds, and we will sell the other and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.” His wife asked him which he was going to dedicate to the Lord. “There is no need to bother about that now,” he replied, “we will treat them both in the same way, and when the time comes we will do as I say.” And off he went. In a few months, the man entered his kitchen looking very miserable and unhappy. When his wife asked him what was troubling him, he answered, “I have bad news to give you. The Lord’s calf is dead.” “But”, she said, “you had not decided which was to be the Lord’s calf.” “Oh yes,” he said; “I had always decided it was to be the white one, and it is the white one that has died. The Lord’s calf is dead. We may laugh at that story, but God forbid that we should be laughing at ourselves. It is always the Lord’s calf that dies. When money becomes difficult, the first thing we economize on is our contribution to God’s work. It is always the first thing to go. Perhaps we must not say “always,” for that would be unfair; but with so many it is the first thing, and the things we really like are the last to go. “We cannot serve God and mammon.” These things tend to come between us and God, and our attitude to them ultimately determines our relationship to God. The mere fact that we believe in God, and call Him, Lord, Lord, and likewise with Christ, is not proof in and of itself that we are serving Him, that we recognize His totalitarian demand, and have yielded ourselves gladly and readily to Him. “Let every man examine himself.”