It operates by deception. Remember, a spirit talks to you - so money talks to you.
I'm using this, and holding it up; because some will be thinking: what am I going to do with it? I've already given one away - I wonder if he'll give the other one to me? That's what goes on - don't tell me you're not thinking that. That's why I'm holding it up wavering - because it will talk to you. What will I do with it?
Money talks. You know what it usually says? “There's not enough”. It says: “you can't do that, because there's won't be enough for you”!
One of the things the Spirit of Mammon does, when it talks to you: it reminds you that you ‘don't have enough’. Why? Because it wants you to know: ‘you need a bit more’.
But how much is ‘a bit more’? Probably, all your life, you'll need ‘a bit more’. At the end of the week, of every week, for all my life, I've needed a bit more, it would seem.
So it talks: you need a bit more. You can't give. If you give, there won't be enough; so it always talks, it's always saying to you: there's not enough.
Here's the second thing that Mammon says. It says this, often when you're in a shop: “you need this”. You need this! I need this. I need that.
I think I looked on a Commodore car, owned by someone in our church, and 'I need this' was on the back. I looked at it and I thought: I DO need this - this is a really nice car!
Very soon my mind was agreeing with what the spirit was saying: I need this. Lovely V8 with a hopped up motor: I did need it too, you know? No, not really. It's just a spirit that talks. It talks all the time.
Here's another way it'll talk to you. This talks to Christians: if I had a bit more money, then I'd really be able to give to poor people, and help them - if I had a bit more. So when I've got a bit more, I'll really be able to do a lot to help people - when I've got a bit more.
Now remember that the whole thing behind greed is: you always need a bit more; so it talks.
It promises you something; it's talking to you - and it's making promises. If you had enough, you'd be really free! If only I had enough, I'd be free - I need a bit more.
If I had enough, if I had more money, I'd be independent - I'd really be able to do some things then. I wouldn't have to go to that workplace. If I just won the lottery - man there's all these things I could do if I won the lottery.
I don't want to read about all the stories of people who won it, and their lives become ruined - I don't want to read that at all. I just want to think constantly: if I had a bit more, I'd be right.
So it always is talking, and it makes promises. It promises: you'll have freedom, financial freedom. You'll have security - everything will be right.
Jesus talked about a man who had everything - all the money. He said: oh, now I'm right! The guy said: what are you going to do tonight, your soul is required of you? Now what? Who are you going to leave it all to?
So money talks all the time, talks: “things are not enough” - it speaks to you, and continually tries to dominate your thinking; and if you'll agree with what it's saying, you'll end up following its leading.
Here's the other thing too, you'll notice, is that people are more valuable, if they've got more money. Automatically, we rank people: the one's who've got the wealth; and the one's who've got no wealth.
The Bible says very clearly: when people come into the church - treat them all the same. It doesn't matter if they're very wealthy people; or ordinary people - they're all people, and they ought to be treated of same value.
But even in our society, people automatically think: the one who's got more, is more valuable. To me, he's got more worries, and more problems you know; but people think: he's of more value.
So people think and believe that money has power; but money has no power. Demons have power; money doesn't have power. Money's just a piece of paper.
It's the demon, the spirit that controls the thing, that has the power; like God has power.