Jesus Christ once said that it was not possible to worship both God and Mammon. It is one or the other. There is a choice to make. Either the Creator is your God, or else the material interests of this life dictate your thinking and behaviour.
Certainly in the western world at this time of year, we see the full effects of Mammon worship – the preoccupation with material possession and consumption. And we see the outcomes of such in peoples lives – excess, distress, unhappiness…
The choice comes down to whether we worship the Creator, or the creation made by the Creator.
I believe this to be a key perspective for this life – a critical, all determining stand point.
The Creator or the creation.
Which matters most to us ?
Which determines the priorities of our lives ?
Which takes up our time, our attention, our desires, our resources ?
It comes down also to a straight choice between the Christian God described in the Bible and all other belief systems.
Why do I say that ?
Well, the Bible makes a bold claim. It states thousands of times that God spoke certain words: “Thus saith the Lord” in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament we see Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh – the final message from God, the last spokesman from God.
That is the Christian position.
If the Christian position about its God is true, then all other worship is false worship because it is worship associated with the creation, not the Creator.
That is obvious when it comes to wealth or possessions – houses, cars etc. By the way, it is not a sin to have such things, of course, because we are material beings in a material world. But to make such things more important than God and his guidance is wrong – it is worship given elsewhere which belongs to God alone.
But what of other ‘ways to God’ ?
What of other religions ?
My submission to you is that they all concern the creation.
Some more obviously so.
Witchcraft concerns itself with manipulating the natural and supernatural world. It does not concern itself with obeying the Creator.
Animism and Spiritism fall into a similar sort of category.
But major world religions ?
Well, stop and think.
Pick one and you will soon see a preoccupation with the created world, not the Creator. Yes they may speak of God, they may acknowledge God by one name or another. But do they actually focus the human heart upon God the Almighty Majestic Creator in all his Glorious Splendour, Purity and Grace ?
In fact all religion is false because it adds something to the simple faith in the Person of God; it adds rules and rituals. Therefore even supposedly ‘Christian’ versions are false.
In different ways, they turn the human heart away from direct focus on God. They take our attention to a system, or a hierarchy, or to a mere man …
So what can we do ?
A simple test is to audit yourself along these lines.
Who or what do I obey ?
Who or what do I want to please ?
Who or what influences me most ?
Who or what do I harbour as most precious in my heart of hearts ?
Who or what is actually my God ?
If the answer is not God the Father as revealed in Jesus Christ, then that is a matter of confession and repentance – apologise to God, determine to do otherwise in future and ask his Grace to accomplish it.
Thine be the glory, Risen conquering Son, endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won !
Christianity 