Matthew 6:24

Matthew 6:24. No man can serve two masters Whose interests and commands are directly contrary to each other; for either he will hate the one and love the other And therefore, while he employs himself in the service of the one, will, of course, neglect the interest of the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other That is, will adhere entirely to the love and service of the one, and quite abandon the other. Do not therefore impose upon yourselves so far as to imagine that your hearts can be equally divided between heaven and earth. Ye cannot serve God and mammon, that unworthy idol, to which many devote their hearts and their lives. “Mammon is a Syriac word for riches, which our Lord here beautifully represents as a person whom the folly of men had deified. It is well known that the Greeks had a fictitious god of wealth; but I cannot find,” says Dr. Doddridge, “that he was ever directly worshipped in Syria under the name of Mammon.” According to some, the term is derived from

אמן , amen, and signifies whatever one is apt to confide in. And, because men put their trust generally in external advantages, such as riches, authority, honour, power, &c., the word mammon is used to denote every thing of that kind, and particularly riches, by way of eminence. The word hate, in this verse, signifies, to have a less value for, and to love, is to have a greater regard for, as appears from the remaining part of the verse, and from Matthew 10:37, compared with Luke 12:16. See Bishop Newton’s Notes on Paradise Lost, 1:620.