God and Mammon

You Cannot Serve Two Masters

You will love the one and despise the other. This saying has been mis-treated and enjoyed tortured interpretation, and justified by some to repress, oppress and keep in poverty other masses assuming that money is the root of all evil as opposed to the disordered love of it.
Mammon is a disordered idolatrous love of money for its own sake, rather than subjugating it to the service of God in thankfulness for all the Creator bestows as all blessings come from Him.
Mammon isn't money. The phrase infers a lack of obedience to subjugating everything to God's service- it's money for selfish ends and riches for its own sake and status.
A misinterpretation of this biblical phrase has often also justified persons -even clerical types- engaging in abusive policies to put people in their place in an enforced humility -thought patronizingly to do them better good. This is sometimes coupled with the metaphor-unless a grain of wheat fall to the ground and is crushed and trampled there it will not spring forth any new life. This can abusively justify trampling on people- for their own good. These are all of course bastardizations of the true meaning of these phrases.

There are at least two very famous, very wealthy persons of supremely high rank in government who have been canonized Saints. Saint Louis in France was King and Saint, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France and
Saint Helen of the True Cross http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07202b.htm was the Mother of Constantine, very wealthy and of noble household and a Saint. It was not necessary to crush to dust either one to sanctify them for holy purposes. Worldly influence takes funds. Isn't that what every Archbishop's Appeal conveys? The more money you give us the more things we can do for the kingdom on earth. So it isn't
wealth or status or position that is evil. It is only evil if it is not used for divine purposes but for selfish or corrupt purposes. There is no need to crush, grind and pulverize someone to make
them useful for God if their heart is already in his service: that is called Abuse.