Jesus did not throw words around, so it is significant that he used the word “mammon” at least four times in the New Testament. When he used it, he did not simply mean money; he deliberately used the word “mammon” to show us what happens when we become attached to money. But mammon’s influence does not just stop with wealth. If we are not vigilant, this spirit will extend to every area of our lives and convince us to trust it instead of God. It tries to motivate us to do more things for it than for God, with the goal of replacing God as the source of what we need. In the book of Exodus, this spirit convinced the people that they did not need God, and its strategy has not changed This evil spirit will deliberately lead us astray and abandon us, but God will always extend his mercy and grace when we need him.