Who among you loves uncertainty? Often people say “I don’t know”, “maybe”, “probably”. And Scripture clearly says, "Yes or no?" Scripture says that uncertainty is also a sin. People themselves avoid specific people.
The word "fornication" means not only sexual sin, but wandering from one to another, therefore to a third. Scripture tells us to decide whether we will serve God or something else. Mammon is not only wealth, it is the desire for your own good in everything.
Jesus, speaking to the people, told them to decide on this! Jesus once told a young man that he shouldn't follow Him, because Christ had no place to lay his head. Why did Jesus respond this way? Because I saw in that person a different interest in Himself, the young man wanted the glory of Christ.
People, deluded, believe in God and in something else, they are looking for God and something else.
Israel came out of Egypt, saw all the signs and wonders, but did not leave the old. You can say this: "Israel came out of Egypt, but Egypt did not come out of Israel." God delivered them, but they did not leave their idols. God gave them a different life, but they chose to leave their old habits and customs. While the Israelites were in Egypt, they were slaves, but when they entered the promised land, they became free. There is a difference? This is human blindness.
Throughout the time of the Israeli people, despite all the miracles that God worked, the people everywhere and always had pagan temples. The people were so sophisticated that they put idols in the temple of God. Even Solomon, the wisest man in the whole world, set up idols in the temple of God. And today believing people manage to believe God, serve Him and at the same time have idols. Why is this happening? People do not want to leave the past! Such people are neither in the family, nor in the ministry, nor in work - in no way are they vague and unconcrete.
You must decide whether you want to serve God or mammon?! It does not happen that everything will immediately be fine, like in the movies. You can't run away from difficulties, you have to be responsible. Just remember that it will not work to please yourself - your sinful nature, and God. You can please God, who will bless you in your deeds! Have you committed your life to the Lord? So do as the Lord says!
In fact, it is hard to live for a person who has not decided on anything. No matter how cunning and intelligent a person is, he cannot serve two masters. Our country must decide whether it is a believer or not. The problem is not because there are no resources, there are no smart people, but because there is no Christ.
There is no one to trust except the Lord. Not because everyone is bad, but even the closest person cannot understand you, as God understands!
Judge for yourself, the people of Israel committed fornication, and what happened as a result? Big problems and suffering came! When the king committed fornication, all the people suffered! Understand that while you are fornicating, in your life, in ministry, in the upper room, problems and suffering will not stop. When it is not Jesus Christ who rules in our life, in our heart, then chaos begins in our whole life, demons begin to plunder our whole life, spiritual problems appear. A thief comes to steal, to kill, to destroy.
Any of your problems are only because there are idols in your heart. The Bible says that we are the temple of the living God, therefore see that there are no idols in your temple! The Lord says that if we choose Him, we will choose everything, but if we lose Him, we will lose everything! Think about what fornication, idolatry leads to?.. What has our country come to today?..
Let there be an altar only to the Lord God in our temple, in our heart, there will be purity. God says that if you want this purity, keep My word, do as it says, then neither demons nor idols can penetrate. The people of Israel knew the word and laws of God, but did not follow them.
Today the question is not in the knowledge of the word, the Bible, but in fulfillment. From the one who knows and does not fulfill it will be asked twice. To what extent are we doing what God tells us? To what extent do we obey Him? Let nothing in our life become an idol, but trust God and let God expose us! All we need is not to justify ourselves, but to repent. Not even just to repent for sin, but for loving something more than God! Solomon forgot why he needed wealth, so he began to sin.
Start restoring your life by entering your temple and start cleaning it from all idols! Don't run your temple, your heart! Learn to trust God!!! What is the use of worshiping idols when you have such an almighty God!!! God is the source of all your life, all blessings!
Why do we forget God, who does everything for us, who gave His life?.. Doesn't God, who gave His Son, want to bless you??? Egypt, look at what God has in store ahead!
Do you see how Christ, little by little, removes the passion for real goods, and, by offering a large word about the contempt of wealth, overthrows the dominion of the love of money? He was not satisfied with what he had said before, although he spoke much and strongly; but he also adds other motives, more formidable. What can be more striking than the words now spoken, if wealth can indeed separate us from the service of Christ? And what is more desirable together, if, despising wealth, we can have a true disposition and love for Christ? What I have always said, I will say even now: just like a skillful doctor who shows that illness comes from neglect of his advice, and health comes from obedience, Christ by both, that is, by benefit and harm, induces listeners to obey His words. . See, therefore, how Christ, by removing the obstacle, points out and arranges our benefit. Not only, He says, is wealth harmful to you, because it arms robbers against you and completely darkens your mind; but mainly because, by making you prisoners of soulless wealth, it removes you from the service of God, and thus harms you both by making you slaves of things over which you should rule, and by that which does not allow you to serve God, whom you should serve the most. As before He showed twofold harm to those who gather wealth on earth - and those who collect wealth where the aphids decay, and those who do not collect it where the guard is the safest, so now He shows twofold harm - and that wealth removes us from God, and that it enslaves mammon. However, he does not immediately expose it to the surface, but expresses general thoughts in advance, saying thus: "". Here, by two masters, He means masters who order quite contrary things to one another: otherwise they would not even be two. After all, many believers "there was one heart and one soul"(Acts 4:32) . Although the faithful were divided in body, they were one in mind. Then, reinforcing what was said, the Savior says: not only will he not serve, but he will still hate and turn away. " Or one will hate", He says, " and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other". In these two sayings the Savior seems to express the same thought; but it is not without reason that He says so, but with the intention of showing how convenient it is to change for the better. Whatever you say: once and for all I am enslaved by wealth, oppressed by it, He shows that it is possible to change, it is possible to go both to one side and to the other. So, having expressed a general thought in order to make the hearer himself be an impartial judge of His words and pronounce judgment on the basis of the deed itself, Christ, as soon as he saw that the listener agrees with His words, immediately reveals His thought: “ you can not", He speaks, " serve God and mammon". Let us think and be horrified that we forced Christ to say - to compare wealth with God! If it is terrible to imagine, is it not much more terrible to actually work for wealth, and to prefer its autocratic dominion to the fear of God? So, what - someone will say - could not the ancients have this? Not at all. How did Abraham and Job please God, you ask? Mention not to me the rich, but those who groveled for wealth. Job was rich, but did not serve mammon; had wealth and possessed it, was its master, and not a slave. He used it as a steward of someone else's property, not only not stealing someone else's, but also giving his own to the poor; and most of all, he did not enjoy what he had with him, as he himself testified to this, saying: “Did I rejoice that my wealth was great”(Job 31:25) ? That is why, even when he lost his wealth, he did not mourn. But now the rich are not so; they, being more unfortunate than any captive, pay tribute to mammon, as to some kind of cruel tyrant. The love of wealth, having taken possession of their hearts, as it were a certain fortress, incessantly gives them its commands from there, breathing iniquity, and not one of them opposes these commands. So, don't be too smart! God once and for all said that the service of God and mammon cannot be joined together. Therefore, do not say that it can be connected. When mammon orders to steal someone else's, and God commands to give away their own property; when God commands to lead a chaste life, and mammon - to live fornication; when mammon commands to get drunk and satiate, and God, on the contrary, to curb the womb; when God commands to despise real worldly goods, and mammon to cling to them; when mammon makes marvel at marbles, walls, and roofs, and God despise all this and revere true wisdom: how do you say that service to God and mammon can be joined together?
Further, Christ called mammon a mistress, not because mammon was mistress by nature, but because of the miserable state of those who servility to her. In the same way, the womb is called a god, not by virtue, but because of the plight of those who serve him, which is worse than any punishment and can torment the captive before torment. Indeed, what condemned ones will not be more unfortunate than those who, having God as the Lord, overthrow His meek power from themselves, and voluntarily submit to the most severe torment, despite the fact that the greatest harm comes from here and in this life? Hence untold harm, hence quarrels, insults, strife, labors, spiritual blindness; and, most unbearably, the service of mammon completely deprives of heavenly blessings.
Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
The Savior said to fallen people, revealing before people the state into which they were brought by the fall. So the doctor will tell the patient the state in which he is brought by the disease and which the patient himself cannot understand. Due to our mental disorder, we need timely self-denial and renunciation of the world for salvation. No one can work for two masters: he will love one, and hate the other: or he will hold on to one, but he will begin to neglect his friend. Experiments constantly confirm the validity of that view of the moral morbidity of people, which was expressed by the all-holy Physician in the words we have quoted, spoken with decisive certainty: the satisfaction of vain and sinful desires is always followed by passion for them; the passion is followed by captivity, mortification for everything spiritual. Those who allowed themselves to follow their desires and carnal wisdom were carried away by them, were enslaved by them, forgot God and eternity, spent their earthly life in vain, perished in eternal destruction.
There is no possibility of fulfilling one's will and the will of God together: from the fulfillment of the first, the fulfillment of the second is defiled, made indecent. So fragrant, precious myrrh loses its dignity from an insignificant admixture of stench. Then only, declares God through the great Prophet, good earth you will tear down when arbitrarily listen to me. But if you do not want to, listen to Me below, you will girdle the sword: the mouth of the Lord has spoken this(Is. I, 19, 20).
About following our Lord Jesus Christ.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
No one can serve two masters, says the Lord; therefore you cannot [create] both God's and worldly things, for you cannot serve God and mammon, [but must serve] either God alone or the world alone. If you are timid, then do not go out to battle, for you cannot be [at the same time] both timid and a warrior, as it is written: “He who is faint-hearted, let him not go out to battle.” It is impossible to be weak [soul] and courageous, conscientious and indifferent, to desire the friendship of God and the friendship of man. For he who loves human friendship is far from the friendship of God, because it is written: Strive for the truth even unto death(Sir. 4, 32). He who has care for the truth is obedient to the law of God, and he who is obedient to the law of God resists those who trample him [demons].
Fragments.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
When we pray, the most holy, lofty objects revolve in our thoughts in a strange way, along with earthly, worldly, insignificant objects, for example: God, and some beloved object, for example, money, some thing, clothes, hat, watch or some sweet piece, a sweet drink, or some external difference - a cross, an order, ribbons, a skufia, a kamilavka, etc. So we are frivolous, biased, absent-minded! This is peculiar only to pagans who do not know the true God and His Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, and not to Christians, whose treasure is not on earth, but in heaven. Where is the living water in our hearts, flowing with life-giving springs in hearts wholly devoted to God? It does not exist because it has been ousted from him by worldly fuss and passions. You cannot serve God and mammon(see also Luke 16:13), says Truth.
A diary. Volume XVI. April.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
In Syrian (Aramaic) mammon called wealth. You cannot serve God and wealth! Let the miser listen to this, let the one who bears the name of a Christian listen, that he cannot serve wealth and Christ at the same time. However, He did not say about who has wealth, but about who is the slave (servit) of wealth. Indeed, whoever is a slave of wealth, like a slave, preserves wealth, and whoever throws off the yoke of wealth, distributes it like a master.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
The second time [the Lord] said: neglect the other not "hate". After all, hardly anyone's conscience can hate God, but it unhappy, that is, not afraid, as if not worried about His mercy. The Holy Spirit keeps from this neglectful and pernicious carelessness when he speaks through the prophet: Son, do not add sin to sins and do not say: "His mercy is great"(Sir. 5:5-6) . You do not understand that the goodness of God leads you to repentance(Rom. 2:4) ? For whose great mercy can be mentioned, but the One who forgives all the sins of those who are converted, and makes wild olive tree as a companion of root and juice olives? And whose strictness is so great as not the One who did not spare the natural branches, but broke them off because of unbelief? But whoever desires to love God and is careful not to offend Him, cannot afford serve two masters. And may he free the sincere longing of his heart from all ambiguity! For so it will be the right to think about the Lord; and in simplicity of heart seek Him(Wis 1:1) .
About the Lord's Sermon on the Mount.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
No one can serve two masters
Under two masters understands those who give opposite orders. We, for example, make the devil our master, as we make our belly a god, but our God by nature and truly is the Lord. We cannot work for God when we work for mammon. Mammon there is every untruth.
for either one will be hated and the other loved; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
Do you see that it is impossible for the rich and unrighteous to serve God, for covetousness separates him from God?
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.
No one can work with two masters: either he loves one and hates the other: or he holds on to one, but begins to neglect his friend. You cannot work for God and mammon
No one can work two masters: either he loves one and hates the other: or he holds on to one, but he starts to neglect the other.
He also brings up another consideration, more frightening, in order to further divert us from covetousness, showing that it drives us out of slavery to God and leads us into slavery to wealth. At first he speaks of two masters simply, without a name, in order to make the listeners agree in the truth of what was said. Then, by name, he calls those about whom he was talking. Talking about two gentlemen representing opposite requirements. "Holds on", i.e. obeys.
You cannot work for God and mammon
So I discovered the names of the two mentioned gentlemen. Mammon among the Jews is called wealth, which He called master because of the weakness of those over whom it dominates. What? Wasn't Abraham rich? Or Job and others (the righteous)? Yes, they were rich, but they did not grovel for wealth, but were its masters and distributed it to the poor. You cannot work for God and mammon, because God commands not only to refrain from someone else's, but also to give his own, mammon, on the contrary: not only not to give his own, but not to refrain from someone else's. God commands to curb the womb, and mammon to yield to it; God commands to be chaste, and mammon - to commit fornication, etc.
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
Nobody can serve And so on. This is another clear example to clarify and prove that one should take care of acquiring true wealth in Heaven, which is incompatible with attachment to earthly treasures.
two gentlemen. Of course, two masters with different and opposite qualities and requirements for a servant, which together there is no way to satisfy (cf.: Chrysostom and Theophylact). In this case, the servant of one would begin to hate and love the other: love and hatred are opposite feelings, incompatible with one another (cf. Mal. 1:2-3; Lk. 14:26; Lk. 16:13; Jn. 12:25 ; Rom. 9:13).
Zealous. Consequence and outward expression of love.
Neglect. Investigation and detection of dislike or hatred. Under the image of these two masters with different requirements for a servant, incompatible for the latter, God and mammon are understood. Mammon is a Syrian deity who was revered as the patron god of earthly treasures and blessings, or wealth in general (like Plutos among the Greeks). It does not appear that the Jews, once so inclined to worship foreign gods, ever worshiped this deity, but they seem to have used this name of a foreign deity to designate wealth in general. An addiction to the acquisition of earthly goods is incompatible with serving God; however, wealth, as God's blessing, with the right attitude towards it, does not interfere with serving God. Examples are Abraham, Job and other righteous people. “Remind me not of the rich, but of those who groveled for wealth. Job was rich, but he did not serve Mammon, he had wealth and possessed it, he was his master, and not a slave. He used it as a distributor of someone else's property and did not enjoy what he had with himself ”(Chrysostom).
Explanatory Gospel.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
Instead of “to strive for one” it is better - “to prefer one and neglect the other” (Slav. “ or holds on to one, about a friend, negligence will begin ”). First of all, the real meaning of the expression draws upon itself: does it really happen that a person cannot serve two masters? It can be said that there is no rule without exceptions. But it usually happens that when there are “many masters,” then slave service is not only difficult, but also impossible. Even for practical purposes, therefore, the concentration of one power in one hand is carried out. Then the construction of speech draws attention. It is not said: one (τὸν ἕνα) will be hated and despised by one, because in this case an unnecessary tautology would result. But one will be hated, one will be preferred, another will be loved, another will be hated. Two masters are indicated, sharply different in character, which, apparently, is expressed by the word ἕτερος, which (unlike ἄλλος) in general means a generic difference. They are completely heterogeneous and diverse. Therefore "or" "or" is not a repetition, but a sentence inverse to one another. Meyer puts it this way: "will hate A and love B, or will prefer A and despise B." Different attitudes of people towards two masters are pointed out, starting with complete devotion and love on the one hand and hatred on the other, and ending with simple, even hypocritical, preference or contempt. In the interval between these extreme states, various relations of greater or lesser strength and tension can be implied. Again, an extremely subtle and psychological depiction of human relations. From this, a conclusion is drawn, justified by the images taken, although without ούν: "you cannot serve God and mammon", - not just "serve" (διακονεῖν), but be slaves (δουλεύειν), be in full power. Jerome explains this place very well: “for whoever is a slave of wealth guards wealth like a slave; and whoever has thrown off the slave yoke, he disposes of them (wealth) as a master. The word mammon (not mammon and not mammonas, - the doubling of m in this word is proved very weakly, Blass) - means all kinds of possessions, heritage and acquisitions, in general, any property and money. Was this, later formed, a word in Hebrew, or can it be reduced to Arabic. word, it is doubtful, although Augustine says that mammona among the Jews is called wealth, and that the Punic name is consistent with this, because lucrum in the Punic language is expressed by the word mammon. The Syrians in Antioch used to have a word, so that John Chrysostom did not consider it necessary to explain it, substituting χρυσός (a gold coin - Tsan) instead. Tertullian translates mammon as nummus. That mammon is the name of a pagan god is a medieval fable. But the Marcionites explained it mainly about the Jewish god, and Gregory of Nyssa considered it to be the name of the devil Beelzebub.
Explanatory Bible.
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
Wanting to show more clearly that two concerns cannot coexist in the heart of a person: concern for pleasing God and concern for wealth, the Savior gives another example: No one can serve two masters if they order contrary to each other: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. At first the Savior speaks simply of the two masters, without naming them, in order to force the hearers to agree that He speaks the truth. Then he already calls by name those whom He means by masters: You cannot serve God and mammon, you need to choose one of the two: either God or mammon. The Syrians called Mammon a god or idol of wealth, while the Jews understood this word simply as wealth. “Mammon is every untruth,” the blessed Theophylact interprets, “untruth is the devil. We make the devil our master when we do his will, just as we make our womb a god; therefore we cannot work for God if we work for mammon.” “Man,” says Blessed Augustine, “either will hate God, and love the devil, or he will be zealous for the devil, but neglect God. This is what happens to sinful people, although they never admit that they love Satan and hate God. “If you are a slave of worldly cares,” says St. Philaret, “then you cannot at the same time be a servant of God.” “God,” teaches St. Chrysostom, “once forever said that service to God and mammon cannot be combined together. For mammon commands to steal what is not yours, but God commands you to give your own; God commands to lead a chaste life, and Mammon to live fornication; mammon commands to get drunk and sated, and God, on the contrary, to curb the womb; God commands to despise real worldly goods, and mammon to cling to them; how then do you say that the service of God and mammon can be joined together?”
Trinity sheets. No. 801-1050.
- No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be zealous for the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
What two gentlemen are meant here, asks the Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt the Wonderworker, whom it is impossible to serve at the same time?
One is the Lord and God, the other is wealth or our sinful flesh. In which the devil operates, trying to chain her to the world.
Obviously, it is impossible to work together with God and the sinful flesh - precisely because God requires us to be holistic, unswervingly and accurately fulfilling His will. And the flesh incessantly incites to sin - to gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, envy, enmity, covetousness and avarice, laziness, and so on.
How to reconcile the service of God and the flesh? Obviously not! The Word of God directly says that those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). And they do not at all serve the sinful flesh, they do not please it.
“Do not please the flesh in lust” (Rom. 13:14), says the holy Apostle Paul. And it always happens that whoever pleases his flesh neglects to please God, to save his soul. About your correction, about a virtuous life. He does not correct his heart, he does not aspire in spirit to the heavenly Fatherland, but he is, as it were, chained to the earth, to earthly pleasures.
Whoever loves his sinful flesh does not love God. To him His commandments seem heavy. He does not love his neighbor. He will not care about his salvation, because he does not care about his own.
Will not help in need, because he loves himself too much. And it is better to fulfill his whims than to give his property to the needs of his neighbor.
“Therefore I say to you,” the Lord continues, “do not worry about your soul what you will eat and drink, nor about your body what you will wear. Soul, isn't there more food, and body clothes?
Care inappropriate, unreasonable, too intense concern for food, drink, clothing is very harmful to Christian life. She is what the Lord called earlier the service to mammon.
This wrong care of our food, drink and clothing turns our whole life upside down. Instead of caring mainly about the soul, about cleansing, correcting, sanctifying it - about salvation in general, we worry daily about what to wear and about pleasing our greedy womb.
And the soul is an immortal being, created in the image and likeness of God, perishing alive in sins, we leave it neglected, without correction. Or even add sins to sins daily. We saturate and satiate the body, and leave the soul to starve. We decorate the body, but ugly the soul. We revive the body, but we kill the soul.
There is a saying in the Bible that it is impossible to serve two gods at the same time. One master will have to serve diligently, and the other half-heartedly. You can not serve God and Mammon. What do these words mean? Mammon - who is this?
Translated from the ancient Greek language, “mammon” means wealth or luxury. The ancient Romans worshiped an analogue of Mammon - Mercury, who was considered the patron of trade.
According to the Biblical scriptures, Mammon is a demon. It is believed that if Mammon reigns in a person's life, then there is no place for God. However, such a statement is debatable. Christianity has a dual relationship with luxury and wealth. Most representatives of Christian denominations clearly condemn those who earn money. Although almost all religious organizations have special boxes for collecting donations from parishioners. Christianity simply intermarried with poverty and poverty. Even the smallest income of a person causes condemnation from the outside ...
MAMMON - OR MAMMON among the ancient Syrians and Jews is the god of wealth, wealth itself, as well as earthly goods in general. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. MAMMON, or MAMMON the Syrian word, is found in the Gospel in ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
MAMMON - MAMMON, MAMMON, mammons, pl. no, female (Aramaic mamona). 1. For some ancient peoples, the god of wealth, money (original rel.). 2. trans. Greed, greed (bookish, obsolete). 3. trans. Womb, stomach; gross sensual pleasures (colloquial obsolete ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
mammon - mammon, self-interest, greed, the deity of greed, money, money-grubbing, wealth, gluttony, ...
Mamon, Mamuna - a demonic being demon; fantastic beast that lives underground.
“There is a mammoth beast of extraordinary size that walks underground as if under water” (Nizhegorsk).
The mention of Mammon lawless, mammoth forcible and found -
dangerous demonic creatures - found in conspiracies and historical and literary
monuments.
In the "Prayer of the Archangel Michael from the osprey" (end of the 19th century), it is said about Mammoth -
"damned demon".
In the apocrypha, the demonic character Mammon (Mammoth) (his appearance
not described in detail) - one of the representatives of the "demonic power",
opposed to God and angels. This image appears to be due to
folk rethinking of the gospel image of mammon (deity of wealth).
In Russian dialects, mammon ~ "the name of the deity of wealth among some ancient
peoples"; mamon in many regions of Russia also means "stomach,
belly "mammoth" - "seduce, overeat."
Service…
The Bible says, "You can't serve God and mammon at the same time." What is mammon?
Mamo?na (?????a?) translated from Greek - "property, wealth." So the meaning of the saying, I think, is clear. But it's funny that in the common Russian language, the word mamon is also called a big belly, a belly. And it turns out that you cannot serve God and your own belly at the same time. It is truth too.
For reference, it would be useful to mention that the ancient Syrians called Mammon a deity who personified earthly blessings.
Our ancestors Mamon (Mamuna) - a demonic creature, a demon; fantastic beast that lives underground. The mention of Mamon the lawless, the forcible and found mammoth is found in conspiracies and historical and literary monuments. In the apocrypha, the demonic character Mammon, or Mammoth (his appearance is not described in detail) is one of the representatives of demonic power. So the people rethought the gospel image of mammon (deity of wealth). Serving Mammon...
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Mat. 6:24)
It would be more accurate if we posed the question not “what is a mammon?”, but “who is a mammon?”. Preparing for this article, I just wanted to see what they say about this "creature" on the world wide web. Not only did I not find anything worthwhile there, but I stumbled upon the fact that people just want to know “what is mammon”, and not “who is mammon”. There is a difference, because this creature is a very real person.
In the Russian-speaking Internet, apart from absurd articles, I did not find any information, which served as an additional motivation for me in revealing this topic.
Mammon (from Aramaic "property"), a borrowed word in Greek, meaning "wealth" and "luxury" (Bible, Mt 6:24; Luke 16:9,11,13. In the New Version ...
Mammon, church wealth, belongings, earthly treasures. Mamon m. the same. Mammon oppresses, and sleep does not come. | Belly, stomach. Kill mammoth. Mammoth someone than penz. seduce, seduce; | psk. hard. to overeat; | drink and eat at someone else's expense. Mammon vol. lazy, sluggish lazybones; | glutton, ate. Mommy, rotozey; | in a banking game, mommy or one not beaten: if the banker agrees not to win in the first abzug, which benefits the punter. Mammy or one unbeaten with the team, the same, but the banker is allowed to appoint kunshis. Mommy, mommy mistress.
MAMMON, MAMMON, mammons, pl. no, w. (Aramaic mamona).
For some ancient peoples - the god of wealth, money (historical religion).
trans. Greed, greed (bookish, obsolete).
trans. Womb, stomach; gross sensual pleasures (colloquial obsolete). Would be…
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Continuing to state His truths in the Sermon on the Mount, He said: “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (). How should these words be understood?
"His righteousness endures forever" ().
The evil spirit that opposes God reigns in the world of evil and darkness, is the father of lies, sin and vice. “When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Since these two worlds are opposite in their essence, in their philosophical and moral orientation, the masters of each of these worlds are diametrically different from each other.
Developing his allegory further, he takes an example from everyday life, putting a person in the place of a servant before two masters. The Savior of the world does this because the meaning of a person's life is precisely to make the right choice regarding which master to serve, whom to worship all his life, God or the father of sin (good or evil). From what choice a person makes and his whole future life will depend. If a person goes through life on the path of virtue, then he will be with God and have prosperity. Since only God is the source of all goodness. "The Lord will be good" (). If he goes through life through sin, he will serve the spirit of evil, for which he will suffer (since evil brings only evil to everyone) and will be punished. "The Lord will reward him who does evil according to his wickedness!" ().
The oblique plank on the Orthodox cross, located at the feet of Jesus Christ, also allegorically gives an answer to this question, symbolically pointing to two life paths, two ways of life, two masters. The right, raised up, end of the bar indicates the path of a person to heaven to paradise, where a person gets for a pious lifestyle, for serving the Lord God. The left, lowered down, end of the bar indicates the path of a person to hell for a sinful lifestyle, for serving Satan, the lord of darkness and sin.
The words of Jesus Christ that it is impossible to serve God and mammon must be understood in the sense that just as a person’s heart cannot be split in two, it is also impossible to simultaneously serve God (do good charitable deeds) and mammon (acquire unrighteous wealth, achieved by dishonest way). And serving God on the part of such a person will be insincere and hypocritical, because a person who is sincerely devoted to God refuses to commit evil deeds and does not allow sin in his life, in this case expressed in the form of acquiring unrighteous wealth.
The fact that mammon is understood as unrighteous wealth is indicated by the fact that mammon is a pagan deity, that is, an evil spirit that urges a person to acquire money at any cost. And the acquisition of wealth in a dishonest way, that is, serving mammon, is condemned by Jesus Christ, who preaches an honest life and serving the good, which is expressed in the observance of the Law of God. And if mammon says to a man - rob and steal, at any cost acquire unrighteous wealth. That tells a person - do not steal, show love and compassion for your neighbor. If mammon says to a person - take care of your treasures, love them and don't give them to anyone. Then God says to a person - share with your neighbor, give alms to the poor, since the meaning of life is not in hoarding, but in using wealth for good deeds.
Using earthly riches for doing good, a person collects for himself heavenly treasures, which are higher and more valuable than earthly treasures. Therefore, he invites a person to abandon the temptations and sins of the surrounding world (that is, all worldly things) and serve God. “Do not love the world, nor what is in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father in him. For everything that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever ”().
The results of the analysis of the parsed words of the Savior
Summing up the analysis of the analyzed words of Jesus Christ, we can say that these words speak of two types of people, a Christian who self-denies sin in the name of serving God, and a person who self-satisfies himself for the sake of his lusts and whims, serving the evil power that opposes God including mammon.
A true Christian is capable of patience, self-denial, self-sacrifice and love for one's neighbor, renounces sinful desires in the name of serving God. This is the first type of person who self-denies sin - a true Christian. A person who serves to satisfy his base passions, who is obsessed with the desire for gain and wealth, who unjustly collects earthly treasures, is the second type of person who condemns himself to sin.
According to the words of Jesus Christ, there is no intermediate category between these types of people, since neither of these two types of people can occupy a neutral position. For whoever loves God hates evil and does not commit sin. "You who love the Lord, hate evil!" (). And the one who is obsessed with the satisfaction of sinful passions, allows his soul to be occupied by Satan, and being engaged in collecting earthly treasures, moves away from God. Because while serving the enemy of all truth with lies and untruth, one cannot at the same time remain truthful oneself. It is impossible to do a good deed at the same time, and at the same time remain sinless.
The self-denying type of man represents true Christians who have submitted their will to the Will of God, who have given their body to God and who by their actions fulfill the work of God. In such people lives Himself, whose teaching serves for the good of the world through the followers of Christ. Such people, living in the spirit and truth of Christ, with their abilities and lives serve the triumph of the ideals of Christ's teaching.
People of the second type, who doom themselves to sin, are under the power of an evil, destructive force that opposes God and serve it. With their hypocritical deeds, they can outwardly look like people who serve God - they give mercy, pray for a long time in the temple and outside it, so that they are praised for this and amuse their pride. But upon closer examination, it turns out that they do these actions outwardly and not sincerely, without faith in their hearts. At their core, these people are hypocrites. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that you eat the houses of widows and hypocritically pray for a long time: for this you will receive the greater condemnation” (). “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who give tithes from mint, anise and cumin, and left the most important thing in the law: judgment, mercy and faith” (). hypocrites - “outwardly you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (). Therefore, a hypocritical person, outwardly similar to a Christian, but in fact is the same second type of people engaged in insincere, hypocritical service to God.
The hypocritical type of a person who has taken the side of serving evil performs a sinful function necessary for the enemy of the human race. The essence of this function is that a hypocritical person, while still doing good deeds for the sake of appearances, continues to communicate with adherents of the teachings of Christ, as well as with people who are looking for their own path in life and striving to understand the meaning, essence and purpose of human life. By hypocritically doing good deeds, a two-faced person distracts the hearts of Christ's followers from the teachings of the Savior, tempting them with his hypocritically good deeds, his hypocritical service to God. With such an insincere doing of good, a two-faced person turns away from the truth those people who have not yet taken the true path indicated by the Savior in their lives, and are not yet steadfast in their life views. And using this, the hypocrite traps them in the net of sin. Thus, a hypocritical person can be characterized as a bait for temptations and sin, and can be called Satan's snares. Because such a person, by his double-dealing, sets a bad example for those around him, especially people who are unstable in the faith of Christ, and pushes his neighbors into the abyss of death.
However, the type of hypocritical person himself is gradually subjected to ossification in sin and moves away from committing even visible, outwardly good deeds and becomes an ossified sinner who does not think about the salvation of his soul. And over time, even the thought of doing good becomes disgusting to him.
Therefore, hypocritical service to God is a dangerous thing, since such service from a two-faced person ultimately turns into an adherent of evil, a collector of earthly treasures, who has forgotten about the salvation of his soul. If a hypocritical person, having fallen under the beneficial influence of God's truths, comes to his senses, begins to think about the world from the standpoint of Divine philosophy, condemns his sinful way of life and repents of his errors, then he will have the opportunity to return to the bosom of God. God, as the embodiment of Holiness, does not accept even the slightest sin. But as our Heavenly Father, He accepts to Himself a person who has repented of his sin and who in fact atoned for this and corrected the admission of sin by further righteous deeds.
It is about choosing the right path in life that he tells people, warning them from serving evil, trying to protect them from delusions and aiming at good, because serving mammon is a step towards sin and a departure from the path of virtue.
