Do you know what "mammon" is? Did you know that you have it, even if you don't realize it? Most of us have heard about money and wealth our whole lives, but Jesus uses a word that goes much deeper than what's in our wallets or bank accounts and what he says about it might just change everything about how you see what you own.
What Is Mammon, Anyway?
If you've heard the word "mammon" before, you probably heard it from Jesus' words in Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
"Mammon" is a word from the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke, and it's usually translated "money" or "wealth." But there's a lot more to it than the wealth we think of as possessions in our houses or the money we see as bills in our wallet or numbers in the bank.
By using the word "mammon," Jesus is getting at something more. He talks about mammon in the same personal terms used for God, both are called "masters" whom we can choose to serve, both can be either loved or hated, and both can receive our loyalty or our disdain. That makes mammon not just an inanimate collection of stuff, but a rival god. Love for and devotion to mammon is not compatible with faithful service to God. It's idolatry.
So What Do We Do With Our Mammon?
Should we give away everything we have and live in total poverty? Should we hate money and anyone who has it? While historically, God has called some people to give away their possessions (Saint Francis being one famous example), for most of us, that's taking things too far unless God very clearly calls us to do it.
The practical reality is that we all need money and possessions. We all need places to live, clothes to wear, food to eat, and ways to get around. But we also need to heed Jesus' warning about the spiritual danger of being more devoted to our mammon than we are to God. If we're placing our security, love, and trust in mammon rather than in God, we're sailing into dangerous waters.
So how do we keep ourselves from loving mammon more than we love God? It starts with getting the right perspective. To help us do that, Jesus told a story.
The Parable of the Master and His Stewards
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells a parable, a story that demonstrates what life is like in God's Kingdom, so we can understand how to live in it today.
In the story, a wealthy man is about to go on a long journey. Before he leaves, he entrusts portions of his wealth to three servants: five bags of gold to one, two bags to another, and one bag to a third, "each according to his ability" (Matthew 25:15). While their master is away, the first two servants put the money to work and double what they were given. The third servant, however, digs a hole and buries his master's money.
When the master returns, he praises the first two servants with the same words: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21). But the third servant, the one who buried his bag of gold out of fear, is condemned. His one bag is taken away and given to the servant who already has ten.
Why does the servant who just tried to hold on to what he was given get punished? What's Jesus trying to teach us here?
Everything I Have Is a Gift from God
Every good thing in our lives is a gift from God, an expression of God's grace toward us. We often think about God's gifts in terms of "time, talent, and treasure." Our time, every day that we're alive, is not guaranteed to us. Our talents, the gifts and abilities God gives us, are uniquely blended in each of us by design. And our treasure, our material resources, even these are gifts from God, and that should fundamentally alter our perspective on them.
As 1 Peter 4:10 puts it: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
We aren't the owners of what we have. We're just managing our gifts on God's behalf for the time that they're given to us. And what is the purpose for which God gives us these gifts? "To serve others." When we use the gifts God has given us to love and serve the people around us, we're actually loving and serving God, too.
I Am Responsible for What God Gives Me, Not How Much
The three servants in the story are given different amounts, and that might seem unfair at first. But 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 reminds us: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."
How much we're given doesn't matter, that's up to God! What matters is that we make the most of what God has given us. The servant who was given five bags of gold and the servant who was given two bags both received the same commendation from their master. Only the servant who did nothing with what he was given was reprimanded.
And notice what Paul says about the purpose of these varied gifts: they are "for the common good." God gives them to us so we can give them away for the benefit of the world around us.
My Stewardship Reveals and Builds My Character
The master in the parable entrusts his wealth to his servants "according to their ability" (Matthew 25:15). He already knew how much he could trust them before he went on his journey. Their character is not revealed by how much they were given, it's revealed by what they did with it.
As Jesus says in Luke 16:10: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
The trustworthy stewards showed three qualities worth emulating: diligence, they put their master's wealth to work immediately; integrity, they acted responsibly even while their master was away; and godliness, they knew their master well enough to know what he would want them to do. Faithful stewardship starts with knowing the character of our master so our character can be formed to be like his.
The third servant, on the other hand, was afraid of his master. He didn't steal or squander the wealth, he just didn't do anything with it. And his reluctance to be a good steward actually resulted in the very outcome he feared most.
I Will Be Accountable and Rewarded for My Stewardship
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them" (Matthew 25:19). All three servants knew their master would return. They just chose to act differently in response to that knowledge.
We, too, will be accountable to Jesus when he returns. But if we have been faithful stewards of all that God has entrusted to us, we have no reason to fear. And our faithful stewardship is not at odds with the free gift of salvation; our good works don't add to or detract from our eternal salvation. But faithful stewardship is the only appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life we have received from Jesus.
Faithful stewards are richly rewarded. When faithful stewardship seems difficult, when you feel like taking the easy way out and burying all the good gifts God has given to you, remember the promise of reward that is coming, and remember that the One who promises will be faithful to fulfill it.
Putting It Into Practice
Shift your perspective on ownership. Start seeing your time, talent, and treasure not as things you own, but as gifts God has entrusted to you to manage on his behalf.
Stop comparing your gifts to others'. God has given you exactly what you need to serve and glorify him in the way he created you. Focus on being faithful with what you have.
Ask yourself the hard question. Based on how you've managed what God has already given you, can God trust you with more?
Let the promise of reward motivate you. When faithful stewardship puts you at odds with the standards of the world, remember Jesus' promise to store up treasure in heaven and trust that God is faithful to fulfill it.
Get to know your Master. Faithful stewardship starts with knowing God's character so your character can be formed to look like his. Invest time in prayer, Scripture, and community to grow in that knowledge.
Reflection
Take a few quiet moments with these questions.
Jesus says you cannot serve both God and mammon. When you look at how you spend your time, talent, and treasure this past week, which one received more of your devotion? What does that reveal about what you truly love?
The master entrusted different amounts to each servant "according to his ability." Are you at peace with what God has entrusted to you, or are you anxious about what others have been given that you haven't? What would it look like to fully trust God's wisdom in what He has placed in your hands?
The third servant buried his bag of gold out of fear. Is there a gift that you have been hiding or leaving unused? What fear is holding you back from putting it to work for God's purposes?
The faithful servants knew their master would return and settle accounts. If Jesus returned today and reviewed your stewardship of the time, talent, and treasure he has given you, what would he find? Would you stand before him with confidence or with a buried bag of gold?
Prayer
Gracious God, forgive me for the times I have loved my mammon more than I have loved you. Forgive me for treating the gifts you have entrusted to me as if they were mine to keep, mine to hoard, or mine to waste. I surrender my time, my talent, and my treasure back to you. They were never really mine to begin with. You are the Master, and I am the steward. Help me to manage what you have placed in my hands with diligence, integrity, and a heart that looks like yours. Let everything I do with what you have given me bring glory to your name and blessing to the people around me. In the name of Jesus, the greatest Steward of all, Amen
