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Jacques Ellul was a French philosopher that lived from 1912 until 1994. He was employed as a Professor of History and Sociology at the University of Bordeaux. Like a Louis L’ Amour of deep theology and sociology, Ellul has produced more than 58 books and thousands of articles. But Ellul’s writing is far more profound . This particular work is a deep exploration of the powerful hold money has on human society.Money Worshippers Many people today see money as an object of veneration, as something for which they have awe, as a criterion for judging others, and even as the primary purpose for their life. Others see money as their potential savior, as something they think can solve all of their problems. When people bequeath this kind of reverence to money, it essentially becomes an object of worship. Without daring to admit it, most people really put their trust in money. We attribute sacred characteristics to money when we “ooh” and “ahh” over it, treat people having it with deference, and long for it ourselves. We want to make money, but we pay for that money with our work and worry, sacrificing our freedom, enslaving ourselves, and ultimately allowing money to usher us to our very death. Jesus found the business of money revolting in the temple, as demonstrated by his treatment of the money changers, who profaned the place with their preeminence for money. Ultimately, Judas profaned even Christ, by selling him out in favor of money. The Person of Mammon Ellul personifies money into an entity that he calls Mammon. Mammon inflicts evils among us in the form of poverty, coveting, slavery, arrogance, degradation, domination, inequity, war, exploitation, vulgarisms, lust, thievery, and corruption. By using money as a channel, Mammon seeks to become our master. Mammon has the power to inflict such evils only because we bequeath power to it, by our reverence for it. Money is Mammon whenever it allows one person to dominate another, as in prostitution, abuse, bribery, social privilege, and corruption. Mammon is a power in the sense of its ability to move and motivate. Mammon is a power that makes itself master, subordinating people to do particular things on its behalf. Painting entitled “The Worship of Mammon” by Evelyn De MorganThere may be those who struggle with the personification of money into Mammon. My studies have revealed that many people find such personifications a vital necessity for relating fully to their belief system. This is clearly evident by the longevity and entrenchment of the concept of dualism in human history. Personification gives rise to the prevalent notions of demonology, the spirit world, and much mythology. Personification is a way for us to characterize that which clearly affects us, but for which we lack full tangible understanding. To understand the difference between money and Mammon, as the author sees it, recognize that: (1) money would be just simply preprinted paper that helps facilitate our trade relationships and nothing more and (2) Mammon would be something that we hoard greedily, something that moves us, something that motivates us to revile others or to treat others with deference, something that causes us to “ooh” and “aahh” when we see large quantities of bills, or when we see a rich persons magnificent mansion or expensive car. When imaginations run wild about what can be done with large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived. When arrogance invades one who has hoarded or inherited large quantities of money, Mammon has arrived. Mammon can inhabit the poor and the rich alike. When people have money, they worry about losing it; which people lack money, they fantasize about having it. Mammon is, so to speak, the “spirit” of money. It is a spirit that seeks to destroy relationships, introducing arrogance, inferiority complexes, class consciousness, hatred of the rich, or scorn for the poor. Mammon seeks to divide us and cause us to despise one another, spoiling human relations. The author shows that Mammon’s work is the exact opposite of God’s work:• Mammon commands a price for everything, God gives freely. • Mammon represents payment, that is, “non-grace”. God offers forgiveness and sharing.• Mammon is selling, God is giving. • Mammon enslaves, God liberates. • Mammon makes debtors, God gives remission of debt. • Mammon is perishable, God is eternal. The Inadequacy of Social SystemsOur preoccupation with nation states and social systems is but our attempt to avoid disengaging our reverence for money. We foolishly think that that we can solve the evils of Mammon by simply setting some common parameters to govern our use of money, instead of addressing our fetish for it. Instead of severing our reverence for Mammon, we attempt to thwart its evils by developing various social systems like capitalism, collectivism, socialism, communism and the like, none of which have yet proven successful. Such systems attempt to force us to act in certain ways by law instead of asking us to relinquish our love for Mammon. The author professes that none of these systems can work until we learn to profane money by displaying our disdain for it. It is a big error to think that we can deal with Mammon by instituting some form of government, as Mammon can be dealt with only by changing ourselves. The defeat of Mammon will have nothing to do with the excellence of any economic regime, but rather through the blossoming forth of changed spirits in men. Men try to create virtue and justice through their governmental systems, but what is really needed is for men themselves to become virtuous and just. Men use governments as a scapegoat, as something to blame for the existence of social evils, instead of recognizing that these evils stem from their greed and reverence for Mammon. Our faith must be in God, not social systems. The perception that greed, hoarding, inequity, suffering, etc. can ever be diminished via man-instituted social or governmental systems is a childish illusion, behind which we hide, like cowards, refusing to own up to the greed and lack of concern evident in our individual lives. Mammon defeated in God’s KingdomWe find our solution in our relationship with God and nowhere else. The political system proffered by Christianity is “the kingdom of God”. The kingdom of God will flow effortlessly among true believers because of their individual adherence to the tenants of Christ. People may be largely self-governed when concerned first for the well being of others and secondly for themselves. In Christendom, the receipt of excessive interest is discouraged, hoarding excess is unattractive, impoverishment is made extinct, just-prices abound, fair wages are taken for granted, and philanthropy is a common activity. In Christendom, Mammon is dead because without reverence it has no power. The author gives us three Biblical examples of those who possessed money: • Abraham: Abraham exhibited his detachment from his wealth by not allowing it to cause conflict among the people. Abraham separated from Lot to avoid strife. Abraham allowed his nephew to choose the best land by giving Lot first choice. Abraham subordinates himself without paying attention to his own need. Abraham elevates the relationships of the people far beyond Mammon and essentially profanes Mammon by refusing to give it primary relevance. Abraham obtains his wealth from God and refused to receive it from anyone else. When the king of Sodom attempts to give Abraham plunder, he refuses. Abraham does not wish to be made rich by the King of Sodom or anyone but God. Abraham wished to be at God’s mercy, pursuing what God wants before anything else. • (2) Job: In Job, we see how being rich and righteous simultaneously requires one to love God more than wealth. To love God, even when the blessings of wealth are gone. Job knows that all he has is really God’s and that God can do with it as God pleases. God gives and takes away according to his will. What counts is ultimate communion with God, not the things we have or have not for a little while. Job survived precisely because he depended on God instead of his wealth. • (3) Solomon: When given a choice as to what he wished, Solomon chose wisdom instead of wealth. Jesus beseeches us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. God asked Solomon the same question he asked Job and Abraham: Whom do you love? But unlike Abraham and Job, who as rich individuals could affirm they had wronged nobody, King Solomon’s wealth came from his subject’s. Solomon’s wealth was built on others’ misery, those whom he crushed by taxation. We cannot expect to get rid of Mammon’s oppression by handing our riches over to a King or to a State. The King or State cannot liberate humanity. Humanity must liberate itself by giving its allegiance to God.When people stop recognizing God’s glory and start thinking of wealth as worthy in and of itself, it becomes Mammon. Mammon is defeated when we recognize that all wealth belongs to God. The issue becomes for what is our human labor devoted? Are we working incessantly for money to hoard or to buy a never-ending supply of stuff? Are we working to usher in the kingdom of God? Are we employed by Mammon or by God? Are we putting our confidence in money or in God? Are we justified by what we have accumulated or by how we relate to God? We are no more than stewards. We must recognize God’s sovereignty over possessions. The Kingdom is illustrated by the provision of manna to the Israelites in the wilderness: “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” Can you imagine the frantic one, out gathering up the manna as rapidly as possible, in comparison to the relaxed one, strolling nonchalantly through the manna, perhaps smacking as he goes? Can our daily interaction with the world ever become like this? Can we ever stop this frantic rush to pile up resources that are only going to disappear and instead rely on Gods provision day to day? We defeat Mammon by giving. Giving is the penetration of grace into a world of indebtedness, commerce, impoverishment, coveting, and enslavement. By giving, we show that Mammon means less to us than the cause of God. When we see the panhandler standing beside the road there is no longer a question mark, no longer an outstretched hand about which we wonder whether our gift will be spent wisely or for alcohol, but instead the panhandler becomes an opportunity to profane money, before ourselves, before the panhandler, before everyone else that observes. Do it with a smile and do it generously. Do it as an act of proclaiming grace to all that witness. Do it with even more zeal than you drop your money into the offering plate because the panhandler outside your window is no longer a bother, but suddenly a glorious opportunity for you to display grace as an act of worship to God. In this way, this giving becomes a spiritual act that is no less important than fasting or communion. It is an act that erects a billboard sign of grace and freedom! It is an act that tears from the hostile power of Mammon the very object of its idolatry and turns it into an instrument of truth! It is an act by which we glorify God and proclaim grace to others. It is an act of praise and worship. It is an act that shows God’s grace is worth more than anything else. Meritocracy as a TrapMany conservatives read the Old Testament as a stand-alone document. They cite scriptures like Proverbs 22:4 where it says: “the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life”. But in the Old Covenant, under karma, riches are seemingly a reward for merit. However, our eyes are opened under the New Covenant, where we see that everything comes from God and that the Almighty is himself our wealth, not anything else. Most are persuaded they have actually earned their money; that money is simply the direct fruit of their labors. But God declares it is a free gift; that nothing could have come of our labor had God not given it. It is the same for salvation. We are convinced that our virtues and merits have made us worthy of being chosen by God; whereas God constantly repeats that there is no cause nor reason for our salvation, it is simply a free decision of his love. When we understand that our wealth is a free gift, we become capable of grasping also that our salvation is also a free gift. The doctrine of merit, such as the sale of indulgences for money by the Catholic Church, is an open corruption by Mammon, which is totally polarized to the doctrine of grace. Many conservative legalists today continue to fall into this same trap, elevating obedience into a self-driven solution for ascendance, instead of recognizing simple grace. God liberates free of charge. If we fail to recognize this then we truly don’t understand grace. Who Wins Our Love?The author goes so far as to suggest that Mammon possesses people just as any demon would, seeking to win our love. And yet, money has no power except for what people bequeath to it. But so great is the power bequeathed to Mammon that it has succeeded in forming huge work forces, armies, corporations, and even governments. The author cites three examples of what he believes to be Mammon possession from the Bible: • (1) Aaron: As the first to offer sacrifices, Aaron was the one who built the golden calf, substituting the worship of gold for the worship of God. • (2) Solomon: Solomon was ultimately seduced by money. Samuel had warned the people that the king would take over their wealth, which he did. In his lust for money and things, Solomon imposed great taxes on the people. This ultimately brought about the disunity of Israel. • (3) Balaam: Balaam was a prophet sought out to curse Israel in exchange for riches. God discourages Balaam to go but Balaam goes anyway, subconsciously directed by the thirst for riches. The author cites the conflict with Mammon as one of love. Mammon succeeds when it can arouse love in the human heart. The author writes as follows about love:“Love reaches down into the roots of human beings and does not leave them intact. It leads to identification and assimilation between the lover and the beloved. Jesus Christ teaches us in great detail that our love binds us to the spiritual future of our beloved. This is how we must understand the connection between Christians and Christ, which is a love relationship. Love led Christ to follow us in our entire condition, but inversely, today it joins us to Christ in everything – his life, his death, his resurrection and his glory. Where Christ is, there also is the one who loves Christ. Such is the force, the vigor, of this bond. Love for money is not a dissimilar relationship. By this love, we join ourselves to money’s fate. ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Mt 6:21)” -Jacques EllulWe cannot hope for modification in the human condition unless we begin believing in God’s love. This is the only possible way to break the chain of oppression. God’s Question to UsIn society, it’s often as if impoverished and homeless people do not exist and yet, we see them still. When they enter our view, their very existence questions our lives. The poor person necessitates a response in the minds of all but the most hardened because they are so often sick, abandoned, and misunderstood. The poor are needed to stimulate our consciences and disturb our pride. We have to consider how to respond when the poor cry out to us for help. The poor are God’s question to the world and a spiritual answer is demanded of us. Our answer is either an alliance with Mammon or an alliance with God. The rich among us do not like this question at all, which is why they do not like the poor at all. They prefer not to see the poor and do everything they can to isolate themselves from the poor, preferring instead to snuggle next to Mammon. In all societies, the rich have detested the poor. By looking down on the poor, the rich crush them, not only economically, but also spiritually, by their contempt. However, once we understand the poor as God’s question in our lives, then their existence becomes intolerable for us and we move to do everything that we can to relieve their misfortune. How can we ignore the painful faces of beggars, of captives, of starving people, of despised ones, of unwanted children? And ultimately we come to see that authentic relief will only be achieved by our personal involvement and not by just a few dollars.Great Book!
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