You Cannot Serve God And Mammon

So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? No servant 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." (Luke 16: 8-13)

Jesus told a parable of a certain rich man who had a steward, and that an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. The steward was asked by his boss to give an account of his employment as he was fired. Well, the unfaithful steward set about to do something about his situation and made friends of the his master's debtors, by reducing their indebtedness to his master.


There are many important truths and lessons in this parable that can be applied to us about doing the will of the Father. Most important is that we must be faithful in little things, as well as shrewd and wise in all things, and we must use money wisely, not letting the love of it overpower us. Otherwise, the love of money and deceitfulness of riches will choke out God in our hearts and lives and we become unfruitful.

We have to become dependers on the fruit inspector Himself, asking Him to shed His light on our life, living by his definitions and interpretations, and being totally open to change in our attitudes, doctrines and habits. I’m sure of one things, most of us will see a great change in our lives and so will others.

We also live in an evil, corrupt and permissive society where the attitude is if you feel like it do it, particularly if it doesn’t hurt anyone. You can be sure of one thing, if you are in sin, you are hurting not only yourself, you are definitely hurting your loved ones and those around you. This attitude has even crept into the church and the body of Christ, but it wasn’t the attitude that Jesus had and neither should it be our attitude.

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6:38)

It was Jesus’ will to do the will of His Father that caused Him to spend a lot of time praying about everything and talking to His Father about what he was going to do and should do. His example is our signal to go in that direction. To follow Jesus in his pursuit of fellowship with His Heavenly Father, to follow his example of prayer and times in the day when he committed himself to prayer.

There was no television in those days, nor would you have caught Jesus indulging himself in front of it because He truly was about His Father’s business. He walked the dusty roads of that era because His love of people was so deep and His desire to please His Father make him put aside His personal comforts and pleasures. He kept his personal needs to a minimum: clothing, food, water and shelter where possible. He paid to Caesar what was required.

Jesus would not allow Himself to be distracted from His Purpose and Calling: To bring the Gospel truth to the people. To show them a new way to healing in body, mind and soul. Many received by faith. Many did not. Each made their chose and had to live and die the consequences of those decisions. Jesus heard and listened to the actual voice of the Father and would say:

 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:30)

"I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." (John 8:26)

So Jesus’ number one purpose in life was to do His Father’s will and this was brought out in his temptations in the wilderness, when the devil came and tempted Him after forty  days of fasting.

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:3,4)

Right away, we see the devil tempted Jesus on something that was legal and lawful but Jesus knew that His number one priority was not His desires nor His body’s needs but the Word and the Will of God, and He answered the Devil with the Word of God. Also, in doing this Jesus showed to all of us that “the just shall live by faith” in dependence on the Word of God, and not based on their feelings and circumstances.

 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,  and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,'  and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up,  Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' (Matthew 4:5-7)

Here the devil tempted the will of Jesus to do something illegal as the son of God, but again Jesus in dependence on the word and not his feelings and circumstances answered back the devil with the word.

"Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'  (Matthew 4:8-10)

Again the devil tried to get Jesus to change His will, but it didn’t work because Jesus knew and stood the true meaning and consequences of disobeying the Word of God. His heart was not divided, He would worship and serve only the Lord His Father. Apostle Paul who knew a lot about trials and temptations also expressed these words on the subject:

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians  6:20)

So the criteria for the things that we do in our life, legal and lawful ,shouldn’t be based on what I want, desire and will, but what the Lord wants, desires and wills. God has promised to meet and supply all our needs but not our wants and even then not necessarily in a Cadilac style. Apostle Paul expressed it well:

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Apostle Paul went on to say for our example and admonishment:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus: Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:  whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame-who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:14-21)

So finally:

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11)

There is a great truth in this statement because, we as sons and daughters of the King of Kings, could ask for angels to come and minister to us in our hour of difficulty. Unfortunately, due to ignorance and unbelief we don’t avail ourselves of all that belongs to our Heavenly Father including His angels and suffer needlessly.

Well, our self-will with its own hidden desires and personal agenda, is an enemy that many of  us as Christians need to deal with even today. God has already provided for our Victory in this area because of the Cross in the form of the Holy Spirit and fire.

The moving and fire of Holy Spirit will do for us what is required to do, as we trust and lean on Him. Then we will learn an important secret about the will of the Father and that is literally to follow and very, very stay close to Jesus, especially in our attitudes, thoughts,  works and daily activities.

For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)

Jesus said it well:

 "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21)

Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

We are to follow Jesus and not other men or great and noble leaders, whoever they are and we are to do the will of the Father, so that we can receive His rewards. Speaking of rewards there is an interesting passage in Scripture that many of us let passby; but it has a great truth for us because it shows what our Father’s criteria for judging and rewarding us. It is definitely contrary to some religious teachings of the day.

Jesus said:

 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

"Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

"Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew  25:31-46)

So we as Christians need to check ourselves to see what we are doing about the poor, the stranger, the sick and those in prison. Are we reaching out to our community with compassion and love as Jesus did. We say, but we are doing things in our church. Is it just for the local friends, family and community.