What Does Mammon Mean When Used In The Bible?

What does the word “mammon” mean when used in the Bible? What does this mean to the follower of Christ?

You Cannot Serve Two Masters

The Greek word used for mammon in the Bible is “mamōnas” and means “treasure” or “riches” so when Jesus said “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24) He was saying you cannot live your life as you would for as a servant or slave of money and still serve God. The word “servant” Either money is your master or Jesus is. No one has two masters. There were estimates that in the 1st century BC, the slave population ranged from 30 to 40 percent but by the end of the 1st century BC it had skyrocketed to about 35% to 40%. This figured to be about two to three million slaves in all. Now imagine if these slaves had more than one master. It would be inconceivable which makes Jesus’ statement make sense that no one could possibly serve two masters at the same time.

Mammon is Money or Riches

If we look at further Scriptures, we must include what the Bible says about riches and treasure because that is what mammon is and this world only appears once, in Matthew 6:24 which was previously quoted. The word Jesus used for “servant” is “douleuō” and it doesn’t mean servant but actually means “to be a slave of” or “to submit or obey” so anytime you see the word servant used in the New Testament (with only one exception) it means slave and we know this is not only what Jesus said but He knew which word he used and it wasn’t servant but slave. The rest of this study will use the word riches or treasures in the same category that Jesus used the word mammon so that we can see the point He was making in Matthew 6:24 because almost every other translations (except the King James) doesn’t use mammon but riches, money, or treasure but they are, in essence, the very same thing.

Jesus Echo’s Matthew 6:24

In Luke 16:13 Jesus says almost the very same thing where He said “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Instead of being a slave to either money or God, Jesus uses the word “devoted” which is close to the same things as being a slave. If someone devotes their life to something, that means that they pour everything that they have and everything that they are into whatever it is that they are devoted to. To be devoted is to have a powerfully strong affection or attachment to something or someone. Devotion can be seen as a deep, abiding love. Paul warned Timothy about a love of money, writing that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim 6:10). The root of all kinds of evil is not money…it is the love and devotion of money to the point of becoming its slave.

Your Heart’s Location

Where you really treasure is really where your heart is at. We can say we love God but if our life reveals that it’s all about the pursuit of wealth, our life shows where our heart is really located. Jesus tells us “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt 6:19) because the Christian is not to be “a lover of money” (1st Tim 3:3) but of God. People can own a lot of money but the truth is that the money can really own them. They might claim they own possessions but really their possessions own them. Paul warned Timothy that “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1st Tim 6:9). No wonder the author of Hebrews admonished us by writing “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). In the very last letter that Paul wrote he prophesied that “people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy” (2nd Tim 3:2) and that is even more like the world today than it was in Paul’s day. What we treasure is where our heart’s devotion lays and if you’re looking for where someone’s heart is at, you can usually follow the money trail. Jesus said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). If you look at someone’s checkbook ledger or credit card statement because that should easily tell you where there heart really is at and where it’s not.

Conclusion

Where is your heart at? Where does your devotion lay? What do you treasure most? It is God or is it money? To check for sure, examine your expenditures and you will discover where your heart, your mind, and your soul is at because the truth is “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.