Mammon: The Faith of all of U.S.

I find myself often asking the question, “How did I get here?” There are times when I have stepped into a car late into the night and headed off for home, and after driving close to 30 minutes I arrive at my house and ask that question. Or in moments of introspection, I look at the mess I’ve made of friendships, or jobs, or an overall life situation and asked, How did I get here? I’ve been in different countries traveling, while scenery and experiences blow-by, and finish the trip to ask, How did I get here? It’s a question that fills many spaces with thought. Maybe you’ve had similar moments, too. Maybe you know the weight of this question as well? I find myself having a similar response to all that is happening in the United States right now, especially within the context of the church. How did we get here? How did we find ourselves at this moment right now? In the sermon on the mount, Jesus gives teaching after teaching that points to the direction our hearts are pointing. In one teaching in particular he brings up the question of who is in control of your heart, God or wealth, saying,

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matt. 6:24)

Maybe your bible, like mine, has a footnote, showing that wealth is the word Mammon. Jesus’ use of this word is something we need to take note of, and can’t simply dismiss this as a one-sentence critic of the love of money. Jesus takes an Aramaic word encompassing wealth and money and personifies it in comparison to God. Jesus takes a concept of societal success and pits it against God as two divine beings which our hearts lean towards in worship. And Jesus is clear, you can’t worship both. You can’t even be a majority for one and a little for the other. It’s all for one or all for the other. Your heart can’t be open to God and open to Mammon. And this is true of more than just wealth, which brings me back to the church of America. It has been a few months but I was struck by something that was said during the Republican National Convention this year. In his speech to the nation, Vice President Pence appealed to the Christian population of the U.S in a way that I had not heard before. His words were intriguing and brought to mind this verse from Jesus. He said,

“So let's run the race marked out for us. Let's fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents, fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire ...let's fix our eyes on the author and perfector of our faith and freedom...and never forget that "where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom," That means freedom always wins....”

Maybe you remember this and you found it funny, or were horrified at the combining of language between patriotism and prayer, or perhaps you finished listening with a resounding “Amen!” I heard this and realized that this is in the same realm of speech as what Jesus talks about with God and Mammon. Perhaps if Jesus were to say it to Christians in America today he’d say, “No one can follow two leaders; for a citizen will either protest one and pledge their allegiance to the other, they will be in awe of one and vindictive towards the other. You cannot fix your eyes on God and Old Glory.” Now that end could be just as easily changed to God and Trump, or God and Biden, or God and your choice of favorite politician, patriotic emblem, or you name it. This might ruffle some patriotic, bald eagle feathers, but if that’s the case then it probably needed to be heard. You can not claim that Jesus is king while your heart and actions convey that America is.

The idea that Jesus wants Americans to be 2nd amendment, national anthem proclaiming, patriotic conservatives is flat out absurd. And likewise, the idea that Jesus wants you to be a pro-choice, pro-big government, social liberal is just as flawed. You can be these exact things, but you must not equate it with your faith. On top of it, you probably can not have true faith and claim that Jesus wants you to be those things. You can not desire Jesus as President, but truly pledge allegiance to a way of government, economics, and living that is centered around the ultimate reality that the stock market decides if we do well. Jesus would not vote for your Republican candidates. And he would not vote for your Democratic ones. He would go out into the streets of Chicago, the strip in Las Vegas, the hood in Los Angeles, the projects in Detroit, and would set up shop and live life with those people. The people that we all too often neglect. Jesus would have spoken up for the lives of the unborn, but also for the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals who are mentally exhausted to the point of physical harm because of our non-life language. You are the fruit of evil when you are called to be the tree of life. Mammon, it is the faith of all of U.S. And so,

Dear church in America,

Stop it.

grace and peace.