"No one can serve two masters..."
Continuing to set forth His truths in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ 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 neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24)
. How should these words be understood?
With these words, Jesus Christ answered a very pressing question that worried the Jews in those ancient times and worries many people today. The essence of this question is as follows. Is it possible to collect earthly and heavenly treasures at the same time? Is it possible to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, achieve eternal life, and at the same time not part with your favorite sins, without abandoning your addiction to luxury and wealth, to earthly pleasures and pleasures? In other words, is it possible to combine doing good deeds with sinful ones?
To answer this question, Jesus Christ uses an allegory based on opposition, saying that “no one can serve two masters.”
. Jesus Christ speaks with these words about the existence of two opposite worlds, Good and evil, Holiness and vice, Truth and lies, Light and darkness, and about the existence of two masters reigning in these two opposite worlds. God is the embodiment of Reason, Light and Truth.
“I am the light of the world; Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
“Great is our Lord, and great is His strength, and His understanding is immeasurable” (Ps. 147:5).
“His righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 110:3).
The evil spirit opposing God reigns in the world of evil and darkness, and is the father of lies, sin and vice. “When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own way, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Since these two worlds are in their essence, in their philosophical and moral orientation, opposite to each other, then the masters of each of these worlds are diametrically different from each other.
Developing His allegory further, Jesus Christ 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, who to worship throughout his life, God or the father of sin (good or evil). His whole future life will depend on what choice a person makes. If a person follows the path of virtue through life, then he will be with God and have prosperity. Because only God is the source of all good. “The Lord will be good” (2 Chronicles 19:11).
If he goes through life along the path of 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 the one who does evil according to his wickedness!”
(2 Samuel 3:39). The obliquely placed bar 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 upward end of the bar indicates a person’s path to heaven to paradise, where a person ends up for a pious lifestyle, for serving the Lord God. The left end of the bar, lowered down, indicates a person’s path to hell for a sinful lifestyle, for serving Satan, the lord of darkness and sin.
In His words, Jesus Christ states with categorical clarity that no man can serve two masters. That is, none of the people can immediately dwell in two opposite worlds, light and darkness, holiness and sin, in which these gentlemen command. In other words, no one can be good and evil, truthful and deceitful, righteous and sinner at the same time. Because you cannot be devoted to God and Satan at the same time. Further, Jesus Christ, explaining why it is impossible to serve two masters, says that a man-servant “will either hate one and love the other; or one will be zealous and not care about the other.”
. That is, in these words, Jesus Christ says that it is impossible to simultaneously love good and evil and at the same time serve righteousness and sin. Because if a person has sinned in something, then he is no longer a righteous person, and if, along with good, he has done evil in something, then he is no longer doing only good. And contact with the world of evil distances a person from the world of virtue and drags him into the quagmire of sin. Because what God accepts, the evil spirit opposing Him does not accept.
Just as the Absolute Light is devoid of darkness, so a person is pure before God only when he is devoid of any, even small, sin. Likewise, a person’s soul, stained by even a small sin, is no longer pure. And she will become pure only after atonement for this sin. In the words analyzed, Jesus Christ, speaking about why it is impossible to serve two masters at the same time, convincingly explains His thought with the argument that a person “will be zealous for one, and not caring for the other.”
. These words must be understood in the sense that, serving good or evil, a person gradually experiences the influence of the world he serves. The World of Good will have an ennobling effect on a person and distance him from sin. The world of evil will develop sinful inclinations in a person and alienate him from good deeds and God. A person overcome by sin will only care about achieving earthly blessings (for example, he will strive to acquire power, money, luxury, pleasures), that is, about collecting earthly treasures and will not care about collecting heavenly treasures. Gradually, the activity associated with the accumulation of earthly goods and pleasures will turn in such a person into an insatiable passion for acquisitiveness and will displace the thought of God from the person’s consciousness. Over time, such a person will hate everything that prevents him from accumulating earthly wealth and his soul will be indifferent to virtues, since the main goal of his life will be serving “mammon.”
In his further words, Jesus Christ categorically declares, “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
. The word "mammon" is of Syriac or Chaldean origin (another version of Aramaic) and denotes wealth acquired through unrighteous means. Among the eastern peoples, mammon was the name given to the pagan god of wealth (a crafty evil spirit), who patronized money-grubbing and hoarding.
In His words, Jesus Christ speaks of mammon as an evil spirit, from whose service people are warned. This warning is caused by the fact that a person who loves wealth and hopes for it becomes attached to wealth and mistakenly believes that only wealth can help him gain happiness in life. Jesus Christ exposes this false belief, pointing out that in addition to earthly treasures, there are heavenly treasures that are higher than any earthly riches. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matt. 6:19 -20).
The words of Jesus Christ that one cannot serve God and mammon must be understood in the sense that just as a person’s heart cannot be divided in two, it is also impossible to simultaneously serve God (do good, godly deeds) and mammon (acquire unrighteous wealth, achieved by dishonest people). 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 means 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 by dishonest means, that is, serving mammon, is condemned by Jesus Christ, who preaches an honest life and service to goodness, which is expressed in observing the Law of God. And if mammon tells a person - rob and steal, acquire unrighteous wealth at any cost. That is what God says to man: do not steal, show love and compassion for your neighbor. If mammon tells a person, take care of your treasures, love them and don’t give them to anyone. Then God tells 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.
By using earthly riches to do good, man accumulates for himself heavenly treasures, which are higher and more valuable than earthly treasures. Therefore, Jesus Christ invites a person to renounce the temptations and sins of the surrounding world (that is, everything worldly) and serve God. “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the Father’s love 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 lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
The results of the analysis of the analyzed words of the Savior
To summarize the analysis of the analyzed words of Jesus Christ, we can say that these words speak of two types of people, a Christian who renounces sin in the name of serving God, and a person who satisfies himself for the sake of his lusts and whims, serving the evil force opposing God , including mammon.
A true Christian is capable of patience, self-denial, self-sacrifice and love for one’s neighbor, and renounces sinful desires in the name of serving God. This is the first type of person who renounces sin - a true Christian. A person who serves the satisfaction of his base passions, obsessed with the desire for profit and wealth, who unjustly collects earthly treasures, represents the second type of person who self-dooms 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. Because whoever loves God hates evil and does not commit sin. “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 96:10).
And the one who is obsessed with satisfying sinful passions allows his soul to be occupied by Satan, and by collecting earthly treasures, he moves away from God. Because while serving the enemy of all truth with lies and untruth, one cannot at the same time remain truthful. You cannot commit a sin and a good deed at the same time, and at the same time remain sinless.
The self-denying type of person represents true Christians who have subordinated their will to the Will of God, who have given their body to God and who, through their actions, carry out the work of God. In such people lives Jesus Christ 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 self-doom themselves to sin, are under the power of an evil, destructive force opposing God and serve it. With their hypocritical actions, they can be similar in appearance to people serving God - giving mercy, praying for a long time in the temple and outside it, so that they are praised for this and their pride is pleased. But upon careful 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, because you devour widows’ houses and hypocritically pray for a long time: for this you will receive all the more condemnation” (Matt. 23:14). “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and have neglected the essential things of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matt. 23:23).
Hypocrites -
“outwardly you appear to people to be righteous, but inwardly you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28)
. Therefore, a hypocritical person looks like a Christian, but in fact represents the same second type of people engaged in insincere, hypocritical service to God.
The hypocritical type of person who takes the side of serving evil performs the 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 looking for their path in life and striving to understand the meaning, essence and purpose of human life. By hypocritically performing 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, with his hypocritical service to God. By such insincere doing of good, a two-faced person turns away from the truth those people who have not yet taken the true path in their lives, indicated by the Savior, 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 called the snare of Satan. Because such a person, with his double-dealing, sets a bad example for those around him, especially those unstable in the faith of Christ, and pushes his neighbors into the abyss of destruction.
However, the type of hypocritical person himself gradually becomes ossified in sin and moves away from performing even visible, outwardly good deeds and becomes a 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 matter, since such service ultimately turns a two-faced person into an adherent of evil, a collector of earthly treasures who has forgotten about the salvation of his soul. If a hypocritical person, having come under the beneficial influence of God’s truths, comes to his senses, begins to think about the world from the perspective of Divine philosophy, condemns his sinful lifestyle 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 has actually atoned for this sin and corrected the sin by further righteous deeds.
It is about choosing the right path in life that Jesus Christ speaks to people, warning them against serving evil, trying to protect them from delusions and directing them towards good, because serving mammon represents a step towards sin and leaving the path of virtue.
The word is mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount
The word “mammon” is of Aramaic origin and is translated from Hebrew as “wealth.” In the Bible we meet it in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. In essence, construction and text, these phrases are almost the same, but these phrases appear in slightly different contexts.
In the Gospel of Matthew, a verse with a phrase about mammon is included in the Sermon on the Mount - the essence of Christian doctrine set forth by Christ.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned about serving mammon
In the Gospel of Luke, the phrase is among Jesus' other moral instructions to his followers and unbelievers.
“You cannot serve two masters, God and mammon,”
Jesus taught his followers
In Russian, the word “mamon” has become an ironic name for the stomach
Mammon was identified with wealth and prosperity. For the vast majority of people, until recently, regular nutrition was a sign of prosperity.
In Russian, the word “mamon” has become a dismissive and ironic name for the womb. Phrases like “to stuff mamon” to mean “to eat properly” are used in everyday speech, although we often don’t even pay attention to it.
M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin
Russian writer
They, shells, want to live, but you, simpleton, stuff mamon with them from morning to evening
IN AND. Dahl also indicates such derivatives as mamonya - a glutton, and the verb mamonit - to overeat, as well as to eat and drink at someone else’s expense.
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Theologians have identified Mammon as the demon of greed and wealth
All passages in the Bible require interpretation. The fragment about God and Mammon was no exception. Christian theologians have taken up the issue closely.
Jesus came to give the Jews the New Testament and fulfill the prophecies of the Old. In addition, there were many pagans living in Palestine who worshiped their gods and who had to be converted to the new faith.
Pagan gods entered the Christian religion as demons. The hypothetical pagan god Mammon became the demon Beelzebub
Christ called to serve the True God. False gods are pagan gods. At first, theologians assumed that by mammon they meant some kind of pagan god.
(1 Cor. 8:5-6)
For although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth, since there are many gods and many lords, we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom everything, and we are by Him.
Gregory of Nyssa believed that by Mammon Christ meant the ancient Semitic god Baal.
Human sacrifices were often made to the ancient pagan gods. Baal is one of the contenders for the role of the Gospel Mammon
Cyprian of Carthage, Jerome of Stridon and John Chrysostom, interpreting the texts of the Gospels, identified Mammon with greed.
The Gospel texts are compiled very carelessly. It can sometimes be difficult to understand what exactly was meant and what a phrase referred to. Since the worship of mammon comes after discussions about wealth, theologians decided that mammon refers specifically to it
Medieval philosophers, developing the thoughts of their predecessors, turned to demonology and defined Mammon as the demon of greed and wealth. Peter of Lombardy in “Sentences in Four Books” wrote:
Peter of Lombardy
French theologian
Wealth is called the name of the devil, the name of Mammon, and Mammon is the name of the devil and the name of wealth, which [name] came from the Syriac language
Nicholas de Lira, Franciscan monk and the greatest theologian and interpreter of the Bible of the 14th century. said that Mammon is the name of one of the demons.
The Bible knows episodes similar to serving mammon. But Mammon is not identified with the golden calf
Inquisitor and demonologist of the 16th century. Binsfeld “gave” each mortal sin its own demon. Mammon began to personify greed.
Greed is a mortal sin
American theologian of the 19th century. Albert Barnes, in Notes on the New Testament, argued that Mammon was the name of the idol that was worshiped as the god of wealth. Following Paul of Lombardy, he defined the origin of the word as Syrian.
Occultist Francis Barrett in the 19th century. tried to remake the demons in his own way and made Mammon the demon of tempters and seducers. This interpretation, completely contrary to the Bible, did not take root at all.
Find the deeper meaning
Nikolai found an explanation in programs with the participation of Igor Mikhailovich Danilov. It turns out that you can live an ordinary life: go to work, live in an apartment or house, start a family, use technology and arrange your home, and at the same time develop spirituality in yourself. Spiritual development is the cultivation within oneself of deep feelings of love and gratitude to God, the Spiritual world, and Jesus.
In order to go to God and love Him, you do not need to live in a cave, but you need to invest 90% of your attention in God's love within yourself. Now Nikolai no longer rushes about, but knows how to walk and what the path is. The path to God is within man himself!
“...This is a completely different understanding. That is, you don’t need to live in a cave for this. You need to pay more attention to your inner feelings. At the same time, you can do whatever you want: work, read, study, dig with a shovel. It doesn't interfere. You just need to concentrate and give most of your attention to your inner self. Now, of course, I am on the Path and it seems to me that I still need to strive for 90%. But this understanding made life easier and gave impetus to act inward, towards the Spiritual. I feel better now. Thank you…"
Following the letter without understanding the essence
Nikolai understood these words literally, in the literal sense, and reached a dead end. He began to limit himself in food, tried not to think about lodging for the night, and slept on the street. This only led to more attention being spent on everything earthly, but most importantly, there was still misunderstanding and questions inside: how to live by God and how to go to God? Nikolai felt that there was much more. But how can we understand this?
“...I was on a pilgrimage and I tried not to think at all about what I would eat. I hardly ate, I ate the nuts and dates that I had, I didn’t look at the shops. I tried not to think, drove away all thoughts of where I would sleep. I slept on the street mostly. Then it was a hike... But in the end it led to me becoming even more fixated on not thinking about it all. But it worked out - this is exactly what I paid most of my attention to... What should I do differently, how should I do it? It was completely incomprehensible to me...”
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Thanks to these programs, the beauty of Christianity and other religions is revealed, and an understanding of the beauty of Orthodoxy comes. People from all over the world send questions that concern them to allatra.tv. Igor Mikhailovich’s answers make it clear the key points: how to live by the Spirit, how human consciousness works and how to get out of the dead ends of one’s own consciousness, what to do to contact God, how to go to God, live by the Holy Spirit and how to serve God. The most important thing that is inherent in the programs is the deep feelings of love that any person can feel.
