Be careful, Mamon !

Saturday June 26, 2021

Be careful, Mamon !

2 Timothy 3.2 - For men will be... friends of money.

After selfishness, here is another great evil of the century. The Greek term "philarguros" is again a contracture of "philos", friendship and "arguros", money. It does not have the sense of avarice given by certain translations but the sense of loving, as one loves a person, money and what it can provide.

We know that the majority of our society is hungry for power, sex and money. The great evils of mankind too often have their origin in the unbridled motivation of fallen man to possess. Unfortunately the Church of Jesus Christ is not exempt from some of these behaviors.

It has become difficult, even for the children of God, to put the limits of a budget. Many of them got into debt because they lived beyond their means, too often giving in to the lust of Having. Nice car, nice house, nice wardrobe, nice vacation... in short, the list goes on. To give in to these things is to make friends with money !

I'm not going to talk about "giving", I don't want to upset you, but I would still like to encourage the following reflection: on my budget, what share do I reserve for others ? I'm not talking about what is “shopping” for household members. Nor am I talking about the gifts we can give to those who will return them to us sooner or later. I am talking here about the part of a gift which is not a “lacing”, just a gesture of gratuitous love. As Jesus taught us : "Do not invite someone to your table who can give it back to you" (Luke 14.12 to 14).

The best way to get rid of our propensity to love money is to invest it in the Kingdom of God ! It is not a question here of depriving oneself of what is necessary, but of not giving in to the lusts of the century and of investing in eternal values. Mamon is a powerful idol who causes more than one to be shipwrecked in relation to faith (1 Timothy 6:10). Happy is he who overcomes.

Good reflection.

Source (Ezekiel 37 Ministries)