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Globalization and idolatry

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon (money, wealth).” — Matthew 6:24

Context of Globalization

One of the most important issues presently affecting the lives of people all over the world is the issue of globalization. People, including us church people, are hopelessly divided on this issue. Some are for globalization, while others are against it. Some look at globalization positively while others view it negatively.

Officially, our government supports globalization as shown by its economic policies of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization.  Unofficially, however, many including those in government are now raising serious questions on globalization as well as the wisdom of our government in joining the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to its disastrous effects on our local economy, which are now beginning to be felt by many.

Globalization as Defined

But before going further, we need to define globalization, because of the various perspectives on this matter. What is this globalization that we are talking about?  How do we understand it?  Well, there are so many ways of understanding globalization.  But for our purposes, we are going to define globalization as an attempt to integrate the economies of the whole world into one economic order where the market is the key machinery and where maximum profit is the key driving force.

Through its primary instruments, particularly the World Trade Organization and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, the economies of nations all over the world are being liberalized, deregulated, and privatized.  Economic restrictions of governments are abolished so that the whole wide world becomes like a global village, so to speak, where people are free to exchange their goods and services.

Two Faces of Globalization

Globalization has two faces.  It has a beautiful face, but it has also an ugly face. The beautiful face of globalization is perhaps the freedom of each one of us to buy all sorts of imported products that we need (or we want) in our own daily life. From the food we eat and the clothes we wear to the computers and cell phones we use - all of these could be imported from other parts of the world.  Hence, for those who have lots of money, they could have a good taste of world-class imported products from different countries around the globe.

However, globalization has also an ugly face.  Our local economy is also seriously affected by liberalization and deregulation.  For instance, the garlic industry in Ilocos is affected by the flooding of the local market of cheap imported garlic from Taiwan.  The vegetable industry of Benguet is also affected by the importation of cheaper vegetables from China and other countries. Indigenous peoples are wantonly displaced as their lands are given to foreign investors. Small companies are forced to close down due to unjust competitions; and consequently, thousands of workers lose their jobs, as big transnational corporations dominate more and more our economy. 

Besides, globalization is also creating a global culture that is seriously affecting our values and way of life. The music we listen to, the clothes we wear, the foods we eat, and the values we adhere to, are getting more and more similar. This global culture is propagated worldwide through the most modern means of communications.

Apparently, there are gainers as well as losers in globalization. There are victors as well as victims.  Definitely, however, there are more losers than gainers. The scandalous gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider and wider.  Therefore, we began to wonder whether this is the world order we are envisioning with the Kingdom of God. 

Idolatry as Theological Issue

Now, I would say that the main theological issue in globalization is the issue of idolatry - the worship of a false god. I would say that globalization is the new religion of our time that worships the god of money.   For at the heart of globalization is money.  The ultimate concern of globalization is the accumulation of more and more material wealth even at the expense of people’s lives. The ultimate result of globalization is the concentration of enormous wealth in the hands of a few, and the impoverishment of the majority of people throughout the world.

The worship centers of globalization are the huge mega-malls that we find not only in the urban centers of our country, but also in different countries around the world.  They are presided over by business technocrats and politicians, who serve like priests and evangelists, proclaiming worldwide the message of globalization.  And it is interesting to note that there are more people who go to the mega-malls on Sundays than those who go to church.  This would show us how the values of globalization are influencing the lives of people more than the Gospel.

This brings us to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:24, when he says, “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve God and Mammon (Money, Wealth).”

The term Mammon is a Hebrew word for material possessions.  Originally, it comes from a root word that means to entrust.  Hence, a Mammon is the wealth that a person has entrusted to someone else for safekeeping.  Later on, however, the word has come to mean that in which a person puts his trust.   The end result, therefore, is that Mammon has come to be regarded as nothing less than a god.

The historical development of this word Mammon shows us clearly how material possessions can take a place in life that is not meant to be. Originally, material possessions are the things that we entrusted to someone else for safekeeping.  But in the end, these material possessions have come to be the things in which we put our trust.   When we put our trust in material things, then these material things become, not merely our support, but our god. The great German reformer, Martin Luther, said,  “Where your heart is, there your god is also.”

Money or material possession is a false god, because it provides us false security in life.   Many of us think that if only we would have all the riches in this world, then we would be secure.  But then, we know deep within our hearts that the most insecure people in this world are not the people who have no money at all; rather they are those people who have lots of money, especially if such enormous wealth have been obtained by corruption or unjust means.

Former Sen. Jovito Salonga is right when he said, ”It is good to have money, he says, and all the things that money can buy, but it is better to pause for a while and find out whether we still have the things that money can not buy.  Money can buy pleasure, but it cannot buy happiness.  Money can buy a palace, but it cannot buy a home.  Money can buy entertainment, but it can not buy inner peace and fulfillment in life.” The truth is that the things that money cannot buy are the things that really matter in life.  They are the things that last and go beyond this material world into eternity.   Thus, Jesus said to his disciples onetime, ”For what it profits a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”(Mk.8:36).

The danger of worshipping a false god is that there would come a time when we would be like the false god we worship.  For instance, when we worship money, chances are that we would be like the money we worship (Tayo’y magmu-mukhang pera).  The Psalmist is right when he said, ”Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.  They have mouths, but cannot speak; eyes, but can not see.  They have ears, but cannot hear; noses, but they cannot smell.   They have hands, but cannot feel; feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats.  Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”(Ps.115:4-8). These are the serious consequences of idolatry.  Indeed, there would come a time when believers of false gods will lose their voice, their sight, and mobility. They will become dumb followers of something or someone they believe to be their god.                  

But the worst thing with money as a false god is that, it is not only a dead god; it is also a god of death. It is a dead god, because it could not see people’s sufferings; it could not hear people’s cry; it could not be touched and moved into compassion by people’s afflictions.  But it is also a god of death, because it causes the death of people. It destroys people’s lives. It demolishes the homes of urban poor. It drives away tribal peoples from their ancestral lands. It denudes the mountains and pollutes the rivers and seas. It destroys God’s good and beautiful creation. Hence, Apostle Paul is right when he said to Timothy, ”For the love (or worship) of money is the root of all evil.” (I Tim. 6:10) #

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