One Not Two

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ONE NOT TWO

Matt 6:24

24 "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.

NIV

These words of Jesus are related to what He had said about not storing up wealth for ourselves here on earth and where our treasure is there also our heart. However, now he makes it plain it is about who mastered us, God, or money. The question is how could we make money our master, or rather how could money become our master. Certainly, as Christian we what God to be our master, but even then we struggle with not wanting to be the master of our own lives. After all, we made the choice to follow Jesus, it was up to us to decide. So after that first choice are we to stop making choices and leave God to make all the choices in our lives? That is what being a master is, isn’t it? The master makes all the decisions, and we simply obey. But Jesus said that he does not call us servants, but friends, however, he is still saying that we either serve money or serve God and we cannot serve both, we cannot have two masters. So then, even though Jesus called us friends, we still are supposed to serve God and not money. Again, how could money be our master, if we are serving God? It would seem when we pay too much attention to storing up our money for some later use when we want to sit back and relax, like that rich farmer, then we might be in danger of making that money more of a god than it should be. Although it is true that the concept of retirement is a cultural thing, and along with that is the investment system to enhance our portfolio so we will be able to retire with ease, it could be seen as storing up wealth, which in turn could be seen as making that wealth a form of god. However, that is not to say we cannot have money, but it is not supposed to be our main focus in life. Again, we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. God will make sure we have what we need, even enough money to live, of course, that does not mean we are to sit and wait next to the mailbox for a check, but that we are to work by the sweat of our brows all the days of our lives, and in doing so provide for our sustenance, as he instructed Adam of whom we are also fallen, man. Yes, we have been redeemed, but we are not the perfection in which God created Adam and we do not live in the Garden of Eden. Yes, we have the right to be called children of God, but we also are descendants of Adam. So back to the problem, we can have only one master, and He has to be God.