Trusting God Even When It’s Hard | Ashley Wooldridge

Choose Your Master: God or Mammon

Scripture References

Primary text

• Matthew 6:24

Other references

• 1 Timothy 6:10
• Deuteronomy 8
• Acts 20
• Matthew 3:10
• Ephesians 6

Overview

Jesus’ warning that “you cannot serve both God and Mammon” exposes a daily battlefield in our wallets and our hearts. The pastor traces how the spirit behind money—Mammon—nearly wrecked his own marriage and how learning biblical generosity broke its power. Through Scripture, cultural examples, and personal testimony, the message shows that money is spiritually neutral, but Mammon is a false god promising security, happiness, and control that only God can truly give. The escape route is wholehearted trust expressed through planned, increasing generosity.

Main Points

1. Words lose meaning—so pay attention to Mammon

• Cultural shift examples: “dope,” “drip,” “terrific,” “awful.”
• The same drift can hide Jesus’ intent; most Bibles translate Mammon as “money,” but the Aramaic word carries more weight.
• Mammon is not currency; it is “a spirit, a demonic false god vying for your devotion.”
• Illustration: Online images, gaming lore (Dungeons & Dragons), and occult manuals all portray Mammon as a being, showing its grip on culture.

2. Jesus’ non-negotiable: one master only (Matthew 6:24)

• No organization flourishes with two CEOs; people eventually choose sides.
• Likewise, the “org chart” of your life must have a single top box.
• Anything placed above God will erode love for God.
• Jesus singles out Mammon as the chief rival: “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”

3. What Mammon promises—and why it’s a lie

• Root meaning: “that in which one trusts.”
• Empty offers: security, a conflict-free marriage, happy children, peace, joy.
• Only God supplies those needs; Mammon lures us to “need God less.”

4. Personal story: from Intel paychecks to bondage

• Story: Growing up, the pastor watched his parents’ constant money fights and vowed never to repeat them.
• He and Jamie landed high-paying jobs at Intel, thinking abundance would end money stress—yet the same arguments erupted.
• Lifestyle of consuming (“gold-medal fashion”) left them empty and tense.
• Breaking moment: after a golf-spending fight, he realized he knew business and Bible college facts but not what Scripture says about money.

5. Four scriptural lessons that reshaped their finances

1. God owns everything; we are stewards (Deuteronomy 8).
2. Every spending decision is a spiritual decision—so live on a budget.
3. Learn contentment; “life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
4. Debt is slavery—get radical about paying it off.

6. Generosity is Kryptonite to Mammon

• Key discovery: “We changed our life’s focus from consuming to giving.”
• Acts 20: “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”
• The tithe became their baseline, but generosity kept expanding.
• Test of trust: When 7.6 % giving turned their budget positive to negative, they faced Mal—spoken as Matthew—3:10: “Test Me… bring the whole tithe.”
• God’s faithfulness: raises, stock, bonuses, and eventually paying off their mortgage three years after giving away their “debt-free fund.”
• Over 22 years they have grown past giving 50 % of their income.
• Clarification: This is not “give to get”; blessings make us rivers, not reservoirs.

7. Invitation: whom will you trust?

• Examine your budget or bank statement; it reveals your true master.
• First-time tithers: test God.
• Experienced givers: push generosity further.
• The church is a worthy soil because only people won to Jesus last for eternity.

Key Truths

• Money is neutral; the spirit of Mammon is not.
• Whatever you trust most becomes your master.
• Stewardship means every dollar is God’s and should have an intentional assignment.
• Planned, proportionate, and increasing generosity dismantles Mammon’s grip.
• God’s blessings flow through us to others, not merely to us.

Response

• Identify and repent of any trust you’ve placed in money’s promises.
• Build or revisit a written budget that reflects stewardship, not ownership.
• Begin or restore the full tithe to your local church as an act of worship.
• Set a generosity growth goal for the next 12 months (percentage or amount).
• Attack consumer debt aggressively to free resources for kingdom use.
• Regularly thank God for every raise or bonus and ask how He wants it deployed.

Closing

Choosing between God and Mammon is unavoidable; neutrality is impossible. The pastor’s journey proves that when we trust God first and practice generosity, He provides beyond calculation—often in unity, peace, and purpose, not just dollars. Let the ledger of your life declare whom you serve.

“Generosity is the kryptonite to the power of Mammon in your life.”

Prayer

“Father, thank You for Your word, and thank You that Your word brings life. Today we choose You; we choose life. Help us take steps of obedience and faith against the spirit of Mammon and toward the Spirit of God. We love You, and we thank You for who You are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”