Serving Other Gods?

I keep on my bedside table a little book of daily devotions called, WISDOM OF THE CARPENTER.2 For July 2, the reading (on page 201) is a sentence from the Gospel of Q: “Worship the Lord your God, serving God alone.” The Gospel of Q is thought to have come from an oral tradition of the teachings of Jesus, which evolved into a source for the Gospel of Matthew. This is all discussed in THE LOST GOSPEL3 and other books.

These words are attributed to Jesus as he resists the devil's temptations, notably in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8. He is quoting the law, specifically Deuteronomy 6:13: “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him only [emphasis mine]...”

Devout Orthodox Jews recite every morning and evening the Shema, the verses of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Verse 4 reminds them of the unity of God: “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” And part of the text of the first of the ten commandments, found in Deuteronomy 5:7 says, “You shall have no other gods before me [emphasis mine].”

Included in the Muslim call to prayer, and in the declaration which Muslims make each time they end their five daily prayers, are the words of the Shahada, “There is no god but Allah..." [emphasis mine] Reciting these words reminds them of the supremacy and singularity of God. Moreover, in the Qur'an's first sura (chapter) are the words, “You alone [emphasis mine] we worship, and to You alone [emphasis mine] we turn for help.”

“...serve him only...” “...no other gods...” “...no god but...” “...You alone...” These words demand total allegiance to God, don't they. We spiritual children of Abraham are strictly forbidden to worship any other things. Now, what are examples of other “things” which might be forbidden? Last month, I mentioned money as a possible other master (“You cannot serve two masters...”) or other god. Wealth seems to be a principal goal for many of us in this world, whether we're trying to make ends meet, or trying to accumulate enough for a comfortable retirement. We can easily find ourselves consumed in the struggle to gain wealth, and we usually think we're doing it for the best of reasons.

Power too seems a major goal in our lives, whether we're lifting weights and training to win a competition, or capturing the “right” assets or developing the “right” skills to lead a family or a team, or a community, or a nation. (Recall that in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8, Jesus was resisting the devil's temptations to power.)

What other “gods” might we be setting up? Youth? Some of us try endless strategies to stay young, or to look younger than we are. Staying physically fit is a “good” goal, but we may have to question cosmetic approaches to appearing different that we are, especially if we're acting out of a “covetous” desire to look younger just to get something.

That devotion for July 2 ends with this little prayer: “Don't let me put anything or anyone ahead of Your will today.” I'll try to remember that loving God and our neighbors, and doing good for them, comes ahead of making more money or gaining more power. Hard as it is, I hope you'll try too.

Serving God or Mammon?

I recently spent some time on the east coast. In one place, I saw two flags on the front of a house, draped over the banister of a second floor deck. The Stars and Stripes displayed in appropriate vertical fashion didn’t surprise me. But right next to it (on the right when viewed from the street) at the same elevation, was the flag of Israel. Seeing those flags, I started thinking about having dual citizenship, and how one might be “loyal” to two countries.


The question is: Can one/Should one divide his/her loyalty? Or must he/she choose one and leave the other? This divided loyalty question brought to mind Jesus’ teaching, not about choosing between two countries, but that we can not serve two Gods.


In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."


By the way, the Revised Standard Version says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon: “god of wealth, regarded as evil or immoral.”(For more on this term, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammon)


"You cannot serve both God and Money.” Pretty clear, isn’t it. You can only be loyal to one. We all probably know how to serve Mammon, and chances are we might be serving too well. Then how can we serve God? We can serve God by doing his commands. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And similarly, according to Luke 10:28, he tells the lawyer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, [emphasis mine] and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” See also Leviticus 19:18 (Contemporary English Version), “...I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.”


But can we Americans really serve – be loyal to -- God and not Mammon? Well, some of our citizens will tell you we’re a Christian nation. If that were true, you’d probably be right to expect that this nation would follow Jesus’ teaching and not serve wealth but serve God. We’d be loving and taking care of our neighbors. We’d be honoring our elders, and we would not be stealing, or killing, or coveting what others have.


However, other American citizens will remind you that we’re first a nation devoted to capitalism and free enterprise. Mammon. Elections are often won and lost based on how well the economy is doing, and not on how well our neighbors are faring. In fact, some would say that caring for the free market economy is much more important that caring for our neighbors; and that we can’t “afford” to be caring for our neighbors. That sounds to me suspiciously like serving Money.


Does serving God here in the USA truly mean loving God and our neighbors, and serving both though our national programs? Or are we serving money and wealth first? Do you/we divide your/our loyalty between God and wealth? Is it possible to serve both Gods? Are we trying?