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We love God, not Mamon

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We’re not supposed to be lovers of money, and we are supposed to be generous. Oftentimes, this is where teaching on what financial stewardship means for citizens of the Kingdom. But, as Benjamin Chua talks through this week, Jesus has much more in mind in Luke 16. Jesus says people of the Kingdom can’t serve God and Mamon. If Jesus was simply saying we can’t be lovers of both God and money, He’d have said that plainly. Instead, He intentionally used the word Mamon, because Mamon was understood by Jesus’ original audience as a “power” or “force.” In other words, when we serve Mamon, we participate in idolatry. And, every day we uncritically participate in the Western financial system, we participate in and prop up a structure that trusts and idol to meet our financial needs. So, what does this mean for us as people of the Kingdom? What does it mean for how we think about our financial resource or even our 401K? We cannot serve both God and Mamon.