The Harvest of Mammon

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (Luke 6:43)

I am winding up my last message (Conform, Transit or Transform?) and this time I will concentrate on Christmas and New Year celebrations and make a few observations.

What one worships will determine the kind of fruit they will bear. Whoever receives the worship releases whatever benefits or otherwise at his disposal.

Ever looked at January? Why is it that all you hear about is people are completely broke yet many were given bonuses at work and other rewards for their performance in December? What happens to all that money in those few days that does not happen to the trickle that is available the rest of the year?

Do you realize that very few people go to church over the holiday season, even those who do not travel? Why is it that they troop back to church in January until churches have to stretch beyond their seams? Why are prayer meetings full to capacity in January yet they were almost empty in the holiday season?

The worship of mammon requires a pound of the flesh of his worshippers. That is why insanity reigns over otherwise sensible people. That is why weight watchers will have to start afresh because they had gorged themselves as if the world, or food, was ending. That is why school fees will have to wait when the season begins. That is why senseless journeys are made at exorbitant fares because the season has come. That is why people who have kept their morality appear as if they are avenging their purity by even sleeping with strangers. That is why people who have never tasted alcohol all of a sudden think to enjoy that bitter broth.

It is the worship of mammon that produces all this. And that is the reason I said that christening that worship does nothing to the controlling spirits of that worship.

The worship of Christ will never release debauchery at any time. The presence of the same in a seemingly Christian event or celebration tells us that not only is Christ absent in the event but that He certainly is not the one being worshipped.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2Timothy 1:7)

What happens to sound mind (self control) during the season? What happens to budgeting during the season? What happens to financial prudence during the season?

I want to submit to you what I did in the last post. The spirit at work during that season is certainly not the Spirit of Christ. Christmas is the front Satan uses to draw people to worship him.

You see the devil is a liar. Using God as a front to worship him is perfectly fine as long as God Himself is not worshipped. Islam, Hinduism, cultism and any other worship that does not recognize Christ as who the Bible says He is is not much different from the celebration of ‘Christ’s birth’ on a day other idols are worshipped or a new year that is different from the Biblically sanctioned one. No wonder like with the idols we have copied Mary has been given a divine status. You may be surprised to know that even the pictures used to depict Christ’s earthly family have nothing to do with the Biblical Christ but the idolatrous and incestuous family we have copied from. And it explains why illicit sex is rampant around the holiday season.

In short if holiness is the result of your celebration nobody will argue about it being of God. If the Gospel and Christian witness is the result of that celebration there will not be any doubt about it being Christo-centric. If Christian maturity and potency is the result of the celebration then there will be no doubt about the object of our celebration. If hordes are getting saved in the process of the celebrations there won’t be any doubt that Christ is the one being celebrated.

The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22)

How come then that the ‘worship’ of God at Christmas and New Year brings in so much emptiness and need? Why is it that it is the shylocks and other loan sharks who celebrate after that worship? Why is it that the abortionists have flourishing business after that worship? Why is it that STI hospitals and pharmacies make good profits after that worship?

Could that be the worship of the God of the Bible?

The final question I will ask is why is it that nobody, even sworn enemies of the cross have no problem with a seemingly Christian celebration? Why is it that Muslims, atheists and Hindus who resist anything Christian are at the forefront in decorating their businesses for Christmas and New Year? Why don’t they have problems painting their shops with the message and even hiring a Father Christmas to usher in and entertain people as they shop?

Remember some time ago a diversion had been created where we concentrated on the safari rally instead of remembering Easter. Why has there been no diversion for this holiday season? Why is it that it is the non believers who remind believers about Christmas?

In conclusion I will challenge you to read through Galatians 5: 16 – 25 and prepare a check list through which you evaluate Christmas and New Year. You may even include valentines and birthdays. Then after your assessment tell me the controlling spirit of each.

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.