What is Mammon in the Bible?
The word mammon is mentioned in the both the KJV and NKJV versions of the Bible. This word is specifically used by Jesus in Matthew 6:24 (NKJV) when He says: “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.”
The word “mammon” comes from the Aramaic word [mamonas], which means wealth, money, riches or possessions.
In Matthew 6:24 mammon is placed in parallel with God, which suggests it has taken on the significance of an idol. So by contrasting mammon and God, Jesus tells humanity that we cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. We have to either choose God or mammon, but we cannot be loyal to both at the same time because God and mammon are 2 opposing masters.
Therefore Jesus declares that if we love money, then we will despise God – but if we love God, then money will not be our master.
This means mammon is likened by Jesus to a false idol or false god. Serving mammon is ultimately idolatry, which the Bible condemns repeatedly.
Why is Mammon a False God?
Like all false gods, mammon promises fulfilment in life but ultimately money can never fulfill the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of a human being.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 says: Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
Mammon promises pleasure to worshippers but ultimately enslaves them and can lead to evil acts and destruction. The love of money has led to unspeakable crimes, corruption, greed and all kinds of evil.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 says: People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Like all false gods, mammon is an idol which eventually leads its worshippers to eternal destruction in hell because it rivals against God.
In Matthew 19:16-22 Jesus asked a young rich man to choose between God and his wealth, but the young man chose his wealth.
In Matthew 19:23-24 Jesus then says; “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The love of mammon has led to the increase of false doctrines and false teachers who use religion to scam followers for money. The existence of false doctrines such as the prosperity gospel, seed-faith teachings and the Word of Faith movement is because of the false idol called mammon.
2 Peter 2:3 NLT says: In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
God instead of Mammon
The Bible encourages us to focus on God as the One who can fulfill all our needs. It is God who should be our true treasure and not the temporary things of this world.
Therefore we must not worry about money, but rather we should trust in God to provide all our wants and needs. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus tell us not to worry but to trust in Him and to seek His kingdom.
Hebrews 13:5 says: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
It’s also important to note that God does not discourage humanity from earning money or making profit. God wants us to work and understands that we need money to transact.
However God doesn’t want us to be ruled by the love of money or by greed and corruption. God wants us to put Him first and His godly values above the temporary things of this world.
In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude and contentment instead of an attitude of greed. When we are content, we learn to appreciate what God has given us, rather than focusing on what we don’t have. We learn to be thankful in all circumstances instead of complaining or focusing our minds consistently on mammon instead of fixing our eyes on God.
