God and Mammon

Luke recorded these words of the Savior: “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” One explanation online suggests that mammon is a “biblical term for riches, often used to describe the debasing influence of material wealth.” So the Savior was saying that we cannot serve God and the pursuit of riches at the same time. Put in stronger language, if we serve riches as our god, we will ultimately hate the true God. Luke then described how the Pharisees reacted to this: “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” The Savior responded, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” In other words, they sought to justify their pursuit of riches, but God knew their hearts and what they esteemed highly (worldly wealth), God saw as an abomination. It was after this that the Savior told them His parable of Lazarus and the rich man: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” The implication is that these Pharisees were like this rich man who refused to really give to the poor (though they likely did in nominal amounts to be seen of men). The Savior continued, “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” These words of Abraham to the rich man in hell should give us reason to carefully consider our true desires as it relates to wealth: “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented” (Luke 16:13-15, 19-25). If our greatest desire in this life has been to obtain wealth and the things of the world for ourselves, our prospects are not good for the life to come.

                Luke recorded one other parable related to riches in which the rich man also died. When one man came to Him worried about his inheritance (he was in a dispute with his brother over it), the Savior responded with this story: “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” But that was not to be. God said to this man who loved his riches: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The message of both of these parables is that no matter how wealthy you become in this life, you will one day die and lose all those riches. And what will matter most in that day is how you have served God and treated others. The Savior’s warning to the man who wanted money from his brother is a powerful reminder for us today of what truly matters: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:5-21). The value of our life is not defined by our wealth! We commonly hear the question about the richest people in the world, “What is he or she worth?” The correct answer is this: the same as all of the rest of us! We are of infinite worth before God, and our wealth has nothing to do with the worth that really matters. Every one of those people on Forbes magazine will, like these two people of the Savior’s parables, die and leave behind all of their wealth. What will matter at that point will not be their worldly possessions but how they have loved and served God and their fellowmen. The Savior’s reminder in our day should be a constant call to us to carefully prioritize our lives: “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:7). To obtain true riches is to obtain eternal life, and if we seek worldly riches above that, we will ultimately lose them both.