This week Andy Crouch reminded us that money is not just a tool — it is a form of power. And the danger of mammon is not simply greed, but the illusion that we can have abundance without dependence: security without trust, power without relationship, control without God.
Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money because mammon quietly reshapes and distorts the human heart. It whispers that people are obstacles, relationships are secondary, and enough is always just a little farther away. Over time, money can slowly detach us from love, generosity, dependence on God, and even from one another.
The antidote is not shame or rejecting money itself, but dethroning mammon through radical generosity, transparency, patience, and a life reordered around relationships instead of control. Mammon uses people to get things; the Kingdom uses things to love people.
Jesus said overcoming wealth’s grip is impossible for man — but possible with God. The question is whether we are willing to let Him reconfigure our lives completely around love.
Questions to consider:
- Where does money give you a sense of control that prayer, trust, or relationships do not?
- If someone looked at your spending, ambitions, and relationships, what would they conclude you truly trust and serve?
- What would it practically cost you to reorder your life around love instead of control?
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