"No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammom." (Lk 16:13)
The teaching that Jesus wants to give us here concerns wealth, and Luke, the evangelist of the poor, acts as his spokesman. The term "mammon" is an Aramaic word which means material goods, but Jesus is using it here in a negative sense, that is, as the embodiment of treasures that can take the place of God in people’s hearts. The danger with wealth is that people can fall in love with it to the point that they put all their strength and all their time into holding on to it and increasing it. Wealth becomes an idol to which everything else is sacrificed. This is why Jesus compares it to a master who is so demanding that he won’t allow any other. This explains the need to make a choice without compromises.
"No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’’
We shouldn’t take Jesus’ words as a condemnation of wealth as such, but of the exclusive place it can occupy in the human heart.
He doesn’t require absolute poverty of everyone. Some of his disciples were wealthy, like Joseph of Arimathea. What he requires is detachment from one’s goods. Wealthy persons should consider themselves not so much as owners but as administrators of the goods they possess, for these goods belong primarily to God and are destined not only to a privileged few but to everyone.
Wealth is an excellent tool if used to serve those in need, to do good and to promote social well-being, not only by means of charitable works, but also by the management of a business. This is the only way to use our goods without becoming enslaved by them.
Accumulating riches for ourselves always poses a great risk. We know from our own personal experience and from history that attachment to the goods of this world can corrupt and distance us from God. Consequently, we should not be surprised by the alternative Jesus resolutely puts before us: either God or riches.
"No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’’
How can we live this Word of Life?
In addition to clarifying for us what our relationship with wealth should be, these words, like every word of God, have many things to tell us. Jesus is not placing before us the alternative of choosing God or mammon. He says clearly that in our lives we must choose God.
Perhaps up until now we have not done this. Perhaps we have mixed a little faith in him, a few religious practices and a measured love for our neighbor with the many other riches, great or small, that occupy our hearts.
If we take a close look at ourselves we will be able to see whether what matters most to us is work, family, studies, success, health or one of the many other things in life that we love for themselves or out of self-interest, without any reference to God.
If this is the case, our hearts are already enslaved; our lives are centered on idols, little idols incompatible with God.
What should we do then? We must decide and tell God that we want nothing else but to love him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength. And then we must strive to put this resolution into practice, which is not difficult if we do it moment by moment, if we do it now, in the present moment of our lives, loving everyone and everything only for God.n
The commentary to the Word of Life is translated in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs. If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past " Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine, the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information, or to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. To order the magazine, call: 1-800-462-5980. E-mail: livingcity2000@att.net or info@newcitypress.com or visit the website: https://www.newcitypress.com/livingcity.htm © 2001 - Living City of Focolare Movement - P.O. Box 837, Bronx, New York 10465Presented here with permission of the publishers
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