Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Context
This saying concludes Jesus' teaching on the parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16, addressing the right use of wealth, and is followed by the Pharisees deriding Him because they loved money.
What Does Luke 16:13 Mean?
Jesus is saying that ultimate loyalty cannot be split: you cannot give your deepest devotion to both God and money at the same time. The word "serve" here means more than occasional work -- it pictures a bondservant who belongs wholly to one owner. A slave in that world could not be owned by two masters with competing claims; eventually one would win the heart and the other be resented.
"Mammon" is an Aramaic term for wealth or property, and Jesus treats it almost as a rival deity that demands allegiance. His logic is sharp: divided devotion is not weak devotion, it is impossible devotion. One master will be loved, the other hated; one held to, the other despised. There is no neutral middle where both are honored equally. This caps His teaching on the shrewd steward (Luke 16:1-12), where He urged using earthly resources wisely for eternal purposes. The point is not that money is evil in itself or that work and provision are wrong, but that wealth makes a ruthless master when it sits on the throne of the heart. Jesus forces a decision: who actually rules you? The reader is invited to examine where time, anxiety, and trust truly flow, because that reveals the real master being served.
In the Original Language
"Serve" is douleuo, to serve as a bondslave who belongs to a master. "Mammon" is mamonas, an Aramaic-derived word for wealth or riches.
Cross References
“No man can serve two masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
- Matthew 6:24
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
- Joshua 24:15
Application
Examine where your trust and anxiety actually rest. Money makes a cruel master but a useful servant -- let God hold the throne and let wealth serve His purposes through you.