MAMMON

By George Card

You cannot serve God and mammon (Mat 6:24). Many people think that mammon simply means money. But in reality it is much more than money. It is a greediness that never says it is enough. Recently some Tycoons have been convicted of fraud and raiding their companies. This was not done by men who were poorly rewarded for their jobs, but by men who were paid millions of dollars per year. 

What others could only dream of, these men had. Yet it was not enough for these men to be millionaires, it was not enough that sometimes they were paid salaries and bonuses bigger than the gross national product of many nations. They wanted more and went so far as to break the law in order to get it. This is the kind of greediness that is a horrible sin.

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil (I Tim 6:10); that is called ambition. But strangely enough in today’s society, ambition, the desire for more has now become a desirable trait. Companies now search and recruit young ambitious men and women. It is like going out there and hiring a pack of jackals to protect a chicken coop.

It is these ambitious and unethical young executives that in search of bigger bonuses end up firing half of the employees, and outsource as many jobs as possible to other countries.  It is this same ambitious crowd who end up defrauding the company at the tune of millions of dollars. It is these devourers that end up selling the company, in pieces or whole, depending on what is more profitable. It is them that eventually bankrupt the companies and leave thousands of workers unemployed. These rapacious ambitious young people are the ones who end up killing the goose that lay the golden eggs.

Yet for all the evil that these ambitious people do, they seldom are affected by it. For they are a crafty lot who know how to protect themselves from the ruinous effects of their own actions. Their lawyers write favorable contracts to protect them, so that no matter what happens to the company they are rewarded or are the first ones to be paid.

How incredible idiotic the policies of some companies are. They spend millions of dollars in secret cameras and security making sure their lowly employees won’t steal a paperclip, while at the same time allowing their executives to legally steal millions.

Front line hard workers, who actually contribute to the bottom line of the company, often have to fight to get a miserly pay raise, while executives who lose millions of the company’s money get bonuses and a golden parachute. Ever heard of being penny wise and pound foolish? It is high time that companies quit their idiocy and quit rewarding executives for destroying them. Sometimes it is way more profitable for the top executives to bankrupt the company than to save it, so guess what the executives will do?

It is time for society to wake up and stop calling it white collar crime, fraud or something less horrible sounding. There is nothing white about thievery. Any millionaire who steals money is plainly and simply a thief, I do not care if he dresses in the finest brook brothers suits. A thief is a thief whether he steals a dollar or a million. Actually these thieves are much worse for most thieves only make a few bucks, but these “white” collar criminals steal fortunes.

What about government employees, there are plenty of politicians who make a good salary, but most of their money does not come from their salary but from their influence peddling and other unethical activities. They betray their voters and the public trust in their desire to earn money. Some are even willing to betray their nation for money.

And let us not forget the non-profit sector. Many of those do worthwhile works and are worthy of support, but what about the outrageous salaries some nonprofits pay to their top leadership. And what about those constant appeals for money; half of their activities seem to be fundraising activities. One has to wonder how much of the money actually goes toward their stated mission. I am all for helping others and many worthy causes and encourage people to donate, but we should be careful on whom we donate to.

People will do amazingly idiotic things for money. TV shows that people will eat worms, dive into a pigsty and even take risks with their own lives just to win the prize.  Others will go into more dark and sinister paths in their search for money. You have con men and women too who will cheat others out of their life savings. Women who will marry for money are the same as prostitutes; they just have only one client. Enforcers whose only job is to beat up people over money owed and then you have top of the pyramid, professional killers who kill people for the right price.

A prostitute is a whore, whether she sells herself for a thousand dollars or just twenty. There is a tale of a man who asked a very elegant woman whether she would sleep with him for a million dollars and she said yes, then he said how about ten dollars? She felt insulted and responded what do you think I am? And he said, what you are, we have already established, we are just haggling over the price.

Then you have the gang leaders and the mob. They will kill and do anything to protect their dark business. They have many ways to make money from simple theft, to pirating, fraud and many others. They will bribe judges, police and officials in order to conduct their business. And if someone stands up to them, they will simply disappear that person. The drug lords are snakes, poisoning the minds and bodies of young people. Indeed very vicious snakes; that viciously protect their turf.

There is a reason the Bible says to be content with what we have. The desire for more and more is present not only in millionaires but affects many common folks. In the search for a bigger paycheck some sacrifice friendships, and even families. They uproot their families and move to where their employers want them to move, without realizing the instability this brings to family life.

If you are a Christian you need to learn to be content with what God has provided you with. If you feel that you need more money ask God for wisdom of how to deal with your financial needs. Maybe the problem is not that you don’t earn enough but that you spend more than you should be spending. I am not against a Christian succeeding and getting pay raises and promotions, but that should not be the main focus in your life.

What are you willing to do to earn money? One time a long time ago, I was so desperate to make money, that I bent the rules to make a few bucks. Later the Lord showed me that I was wrong. You must be honest in your job and in what type of job you engage in, Dishonest business people abound, they will lie and cheat customers in order to make a little more profit. I know, I met some of them. Just a little cheating, the client won’t even know or notice, but God will. There are some professions that you as a Christian should not even consider, no matter how profitable they might be.

When at one time I had my own business, I noticed that some people were cheats. I would do the job and they would take forever to pay me for my services and sometimes they simply never paid me. Yes, I could take them to court, but it would cost me more to get a judgment against them than it was worth it. God knows they cheated me and never paid me. At other times I noticed that some of my competitors cheated and stole my clients. They offered lower prices just to take my clients away; then later they would eventually jack up the prices to even higher that what I would charge. During the time that I had my own business, I dealt honestly with people never overcharged or cheated my customers, for God was my business partner.

Some work two shifts ruining their health while others take bribes. It seems that getting a little money on the side is a national pastime. Then of course there is the desire for easy money, which feeds the gambling industry. Doesn’t anyone realize that the house always wins? If you like to gamble, slap yourself and say these words “The house always wins”, repeat these words as many times as necessary until they sink into your head.

Some may ask what is wrong with progressing and having some extra money.  There is nothing wrong with that, but there is plenty of wrong when it becomes an obsession. When the things of God gets neglected in the pursuit of money. We need to be chasing God not money. God knows what we need, he is not ignorant of our needs. It is Ok to better yourself and seek promotions, but when are you going to stop your climb in that ladder? Are you constantly going to be going to night school getting another degree in the pursuit of that next desired promotion?

Doesn’t’ the Bible teach capitalism? No it does not. The Bible teaches a system that has some parts capitalistic ideas, some socialist and even some communist ideas. It is a system that allows some to get rich if they were thrifty and smart, yet at the same time took care of providing for the needs of the poor.

First of all let me tell everyone that full Communism and its brother Socialism only bring financial ruin to any nation foolish enough to implement it. These ideologies are morally bankrupt and will bankrupt financially any nation.

However pure capitalism is the worship and desire for more money. The desire for money destroys the morals of millions of people. That is the reason why people steal. They want what others have, they are not happy with the money they have. People have confused the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of money.

It is time for us to stop idolizing capitalism and realize the inherent evils that arise in a system that is geared only toward profit and more profit. Mammon is the god of capitalism. And he always beckons us to get more and more. If we should ever ask when is it enough? He would simply smile and say, it is never enough.

Lest anyone thinks I am playing favorites let me take on the religious establishment too. I am in the ministry and I fully understand that there are costs to the ministry, but what I definitely do not understand or care to understand is those begging preachers who just keep on asking for money. One collection in a service is never enough, they ask for this and for that, half the service goes in begging for money or promoting some item for sale.

If God calls you into the ministry, he will provide for your needs. Maybe thru a job or thru churchgoer’s donations. God is not going to call you into the ministry and let you with your family starve to death. If you need to spend all your time fundraising for the ministry and begging for money, then God probably did not call you into this field.

Yes I know that most preachers are honest and hard working preachers and surely deserve a decent salary, but I am not blind to the few rotten apples in the ministry. How many schemes will some greedy preachers come up with in order to fleece the sheep? I could not keep count. Jesus was so angry with the merchants in the temple that he threw them out. Under the excuse of providing a service to the worshipers they fleeced the sheep of Israel. And of course since the priests took a cut of the profit they happily allowed them right inside the temple.

The pulpit is not a place to sell holy water, holy anointing oils, inspired books or anything else. The pulpit is there to preach the word of God not to make a profit. It is a shame when the pulpit itself becomes a place where mammon rules, where God has been displaced and greed runs rampant.

Now those Christian ministries that feed the poor in other countries or other ministries have fallen for the same trap of constantly asking for money. I am sure that many of them are honest organizations, but the few bad apples make all the others stink.

God is the richest being in the whole universe for the whole universe belongs to him. If you need finances for a work of God, God will provide it in some way. You do not need to be scheming or devising ways to get money. Simply tell the people of God your need and God will move them in their heart to do what is right, and what is right might be to simply ignore your request for money and give you nothing.

The church does not need millionaires in its pews, if they come and accept Jesus fine, I am sure they will contribute what they feel is right. A well off person is not a goose that lays golden eggs for you, so do not try to abuse the goodwill of that rich Christian for he might leave your church. He will not leave because he is a backslider or lukewarm but he might leave because he realizes that you are just trying to get his money; he is not a fool that will not catch on to your game.

God will provide financial support to those causes that advance his work. So it is fine to ask for financial support from the church but do not try to squeeze the church or chastise the congregation for not giving you a certain amount. God will support your need not your greed. God will not provide those funds you want, but those that you need. Do not make plans that you cannot financially sustain and then expect that God is obliged to get you thru; he might just let you file for bankruptcy just to teach you a lesson.

I am not against Christian brethren bettering their financial situation, but not at the expense of their spiritual well being. Go to God and talk to him about your situation, he is not an unreasonable fellow who doesn’t understand that you have financial needs. God will open the right doors for you, trust him for your body just like you trust him with your soul. He owns the universe, all the resources of the universe are at his disposal, and if there were not enough he can create much more. Ask God in sincerity for your finances.

God wants you to love him, not money. If you love God, then he will provide the money you need. “All these things shall be added unto you”.