Go here to read my earlier article entitled “Five Signs You May Be Dealing With A Mammon Spirit to refresh what I said. Because so many have read and enjoyed that article that I am expanding that blog to an ebook. Meanwhile, I have discovered two more signs that you might be dealing with a mammon spirit.

We could come up with ten, twenty, or more signs, but fall under a specific category that I covers in these seven signs. A poverty mentality is part of the mammon debacle that we don’t always consider. Being poor is not the problem, as we will see, and neither is having property, wealth, and possessions.

Poverty Mindset

You do not have to be poor or in poverty to have a poverty mindset. Many wealthy, rich, and well-to-do people live with a poverty mindset. As the name implies, it is a mindset or attitude towards money, wealth, and possessions.

According to Alanweiss.com, “A poverty mentality is one that influences behaviors consistent with beliefs that money shouldn’t be spent, opportunities are limited, any risk at all is dangerous, any success is temporary and non-replicable, and generally remaining in the back of the pack is safest.” In other words, you have a mindset of staying poor or, as the quotes stated, in the back.

You do not have a mindset of getting ahead or acquiring wealth. You may even see money as evil and try to get by without using it. But this mindset can lead to some of the other signs also. You may have money and wealth in some cases, but the decisions you make are the same ones that a poor and impoverished person would make.

I have identified three areas I will discuss regarding this mindset: 1-Hoarding, 2- Having money and being stingy or ungenerous, and 3- poor stewardship.

Hoarding

I have seen it and, to a degree, lived it. Yes, I admit I stockpiled things, and I really don’t know why. My mother could do the same, so maybe I inherited it. We have seen the reality TV show where people lived in filth and squalor, had little or no food, and hardly paid their bills.

Those are the extremes. Many people live through hard times, such as the Great Depression, which marks their lifestyle for the rest of their lives. They have memories of growing up with very little and having to scrape and fight for food, clothing, and other basic necessities. Some people don’t grow up that way, but through life experiences, they think that they will not do without storing up large quantities of food or even toilet paper.

Ten years go by, and they have so much stuff put aside that it has begun to deteriorate and rot. They never have any intention of sharing, and sadly they never deal with the outdated stuff. They just buy more and more. This is also poor stewardship,, as we will see.

Stockpiling stuff does no one any good and can be selfish. I think God wants us to put it aside. People have always done that in anticipation of hard times. But you have to rotate food and other things with shelf life. Also, Jesus would expect His people to have a little extra for someone unable to store up, whether they lack the financial means or the place to store it.

Being Stingy And Ungenerous With Money

We think of stingy people, and we often associate them with someone with little or no money or no source of income. Then some grew up rough and maintained that mindset their entire adult lives. However, stinginess with money is often found among the wealthy and those with a lot of money.

Not all wealthy people are ungenerous, but I have seen repeatedly that many wealthy people will not give to the poor or support charitable needs. Instead, they tend to put more money into stocks, bonds, and other investments. In other words, like most people, the mindset is, “What’s in it for me?”

In the Kingdom of God, we sow and reap. The sowing is the investing. We reap blessings from God because we are generous. This is what Jesus taught in the New Testament: generosity. Being generous requires us to be stewards, so we have to be careful and not throw our money into a sinking hole.

Poor Stewardship

This is a subject we don’t talk about enough. Some people just give stuff away and don’t think about who or where they give it. Others never help anyone. Being a good steward is something else Jesus talked about a lot. Remember the unjust steward?

Most Christians forget that God owns it all and we are just stewards. That means we are in charge and responsible until He returns. There is a reckoning coming, and we will give an accounting of how we handled what was entrusted to us. That is why He said in the New Testament that He would give more to those who demonstrate He can trust them.

A poor steward is a result of not understanding who the actual owner is and not appreciating what God entrusted to each of us. It can be a poverty mindset. Remember poverty minded people just want to ride in the back seat and never move forward. You can have millions of dollars and be a poor steward.

Not Trusting God (Depending On Money)

People say, “Money talks.” Yes, it does, and the message it sends is that you can get what you want (and need) with money. Bribery and extortion are some ways people use money to get what they want, whether they need it or not. Ironically, our money has “In God, we trust” printed on it.

People commonly misquote the Bible by saying, “Money is the root of all evil,” but it actually reads, “The Love of money is the root of all evil.” Yes, the love of money and not God cause many to go headlong down the wide gate of the world system. This is because they trust in money and not God.

God is our provider. Money is one of the ways we can obtain goods and services. In other terms, people used precious metals and jewels. Earlier, people bartered for what they needed. Some people still do this. When you do not have money to pay for a service, you can offer your services or something you have of value.

We say we go to work to pay the bills since most people receive compensation for work in the form of money. But, in reality, we go to work to serve, and God compensates us through service credits. We call these service credits money. Unfortunately, so many people complain about their jobs and never realize they are servants.

We get up and go to work by faith. It takes faith to believe the employer will make good and pay us. Then we pay our bills, buy food and then have fun. But do we ever ask God what He wants us to do with the money He has provided through a job or business?

We put more trust in money, which shows our lack of generosity in giving into the Kingdom of God. Christians tend to be the worst at tipping servers. But, it is a reflection of how we view money. The server is serving you. They receive a modest hourly wage and rely on tips for most of their pay. If their service is top-notch, why do we not reward outstanding service?

We sometimes throw God a tip on Sunday morning at church, though. We treat Him worse than the server. Yet, He owns it all, and we should be willing to give it all back if He asks us to.

Anything you put before God is idolatry, including money!

The Solution

I know that money and wealth are touchy subjects. I also know that Jesus spoke about it a lot because it reflects how we view God. The answer to freedom from mammon begins with recognizing that He owns it all and we are just stewards. Also, we need to acknowledge that we are servants in the kingdom of God.

So, we can’t serve God and money. Who will you serve?