Serving God and Mammon. The seeds choked by thorns. These biblical references all described Mark Ibrahim's Christian life. For him, the seeds of the gospel didn't fall by the wayside or on stony places. No - the gospel was burned deeply in his heart. He knew he was a sinner saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and he knew it was the Holy Spirit who revealed all this to him. He was going to be a Jesus believer for life and bet his life on the God of the Bible. But he also loved the world. He wanted money for his ego and to gain his parents' approval. Indeed, his parents did not deal in love - at least not the kind a child can visibly detect and be assured of. No - his parents dealt in parental approval and acceptance and the giving and withholding of such parental affections. These were the tools they used to force their children to succeed and become rich at all costs. The Love of Money was already tempting on its own. But if Mammon was also packaged with the parental love and acceptance that he desperately craved - could he really be blamed for falling under its spell? So Mark told himself he was going to serve God by making and donating money. But he did not realize at the time that he was lying to himself and abandoning God's calling.