Two Masters

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24).

Someone ask me along time ago, “Man, how did Solomon make it with all those wives to deal with?” The answer is, “He didn’t.” What began as a promising career as the King of Israel ended up a sad and lamented epitaph of a life ruined with too many masters. In truth, when you read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 you will realize the problem was not with Solomon’s wives, his wealth, his fame, or even his status as king. The problem with Solomon was Solomon. He did not have a ‘healthy eye’ or a ‘single eye’ (6:22-23). God was not his master, he was his own master.

When Jesus said no one can serve two masters, what He said was ‘no one can be a slave to two lords’. It’s an impossibility. Without offending anyone by the illustration of slavery, the point Jesus made was ‘a slave has only one master’, he/she cannot be owned by two masters. That brings contention between the two masters, and confusion and divided service to the servant.
 
The illustration comes as a conclusion to what Jesus said about ‘treasuring treasures’ - material wealth. As stated before, having wealth is not evil, loving our wealth is evil (1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5). The proper attitude toward wealth is found in Luke 16:9, And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. A person who loves his/her stuff will not open his/her heart or hands to those in need.

The application for the modern disciple of Jesus Christ is, to paraphrase Joshua 24:14-15, make up your mind to honor and respect the Lord and to serve Him faithfully with all your heart. Set aside permanently anything and everything that stands between you and the Lord and honor Him alone. If that’s something you don’t want to do, then man-up and make a decision whom or what you will honor and serve.

The disobedient disciple will have no confidence in himself, his current life, or in his future if he has no confidence in Jesus Christ. “If we turn aside from God and His ordinances, He is not tied to us, but will certainly cease to act for us, when we will discover that present triumphs are no security to us” (Keith Brooks). What happened to the 1st generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt? God was with them, God blessed them, but God would not permit them to enter the land of rest. Furthermore, the 40 years of wilderness wandering was spent in total and complete anxiety. Jesus does not want that for any of us. Why would we want that for ourselves?

“Father, thank You for all that You bless me with through Jesus Christ and Your Holy Spirit. Remind me daily that I own none of these blessings, but am a steward of these resources to help others and to bring honor and glory to Your name. Amen."

Pastor