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. (Matthew 6:24)
You cannot serve God and money, says Jesus. But many of
us in the American church spend our entire lives trying to do just that! We do
it in the name of moderation, of being wise with our money, of being good
stewards, and perhaps even worse, under the delusion that God wants us to be
rich, living in million dollar mansions while others live in cardboard boxes.
Don’t get me wrong – I do believe that God takes care of
our needs, even blessing us abundantly. I have seen Him prosper the lives of
his people again and again, taking them from a miry pit of sin and hopelessness
and placing them on the Solid Rock, giving them a hope and a future. I have
seen changed lives with my own eyes, and sometimes when people give their lives
to Christ they find not only joy and peace but also financial prosperity as
they order their lives according to God’s precepts. They really do find the
abundant life – life to the fullest – that Jesus offers.
Even so, I don’t think we can take Jesus lightly when he
asks us, “Who do you serve, God or money?” He is just too adamant and
persistent that the love of money and the pursuit of wealth will lead to
destruction. And he not only taught it, he lived it! Think about it for a
moment. Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He who healed everyone who
came to him and could have had offerings galore, did not live in a mansion nor
did he drive the Cadillac of his day. He didn’t show off his bling or his
latest wardrobe. On the contrary, he not only didn’t have a mansion or a
chariot, he didn’t even have a house or a donkey! He walked from place to place
with only the clothes on his back!
Judging from the way he lived, maybe Jesus really meant
it when he said that it is hard for a rich man to get into heaven. Maybe it
wasn’t really an anomaly when he told the rich young ruler to sell everything
and give to the poor. Maybe Jesus is serious when he tells us to give to
whoever asks and loan to whoever wants to borrow. And maybe, just maybe, he is
being dead serious when he asks you and me, Americans living in the land of
plenty, who do you serve?
Reflect upon it for a moment. No speed-reading allowed
here. Who do you serve? What is the driving force in your life? How do you
spend your time, your energy, and your money? Is pleasing God the driving force
in your life? Do you spend the majority of your time, energy, and money in an
effort to be pleasing to Him and a blessing to others? Or do you spend more
time and money on entertainment, restaurants, recreation, and other things that
are designed to bring pleasure to you and you alone? And at your workplace, is
it all about climbing the career ladder and making as much money as you can? Or
is it about pleasing God by working as if you were working for him and being a
blessing to those He puts you in relationship with?
And where is your security? In our modern world we often
lose sight of this in the master/slave relationship but it is the master who
watches over the slave and provides food, shelter and security. Who is the master
that you look to for these things? Is it God or is it money? Think about it –
where do you find your security, your hope for the future? Your retirement
accounts? The equity in your house? The Social Security Administration? Or God?
The answers to these questions will tell you quite
clearly who you serve. If it is God and God alone, then you are doing
extraordinarily well, my friend. If not, if there is a bit of mixture in there,
a bit of trying to serve both God and money, please know that you are not
alone, especially if you live in a land of plenty such as the United States of
America.
But even though you are not alone and others are
struggling with the same issue, it doesn’t make it right. We serve an extreme
God, a God who is jealous for our time, who loves it when we spend time with
Him in prayer and worship and just telling him about our day, our concerns, our
need for Him. He likes it when we are in need and dependent upon Him, for it is
then that we cry out to Him and spend time with Him. If you don’t believe me,
just read the Old Testament and count the times He withheld rain or allowed
sickness or ruined crops just so His people would cry out to Him and return to
Him once again.
Our
God is not a God of moderation; He is an extreme God who demonstrates extreme
love for us. He came down from heaven in the form of a man, and He walked
around living an extreme lifestyle and making extreme statements, calling
people into an extremely devoted relationship to Him.
Are you ready to be extremely devoted to Him? Are you
willingly to make Him your master? Even if He asks you to forsake everything
else and follow Him?
Do it, my friend,
make that commitment right now. Commit yourself to making Him your master and
being a slave to Him and Him alone, not money or anything else that this world
has to offer. Ask Him what He would have you to do in regards to your life and
how you spend your time, energy, and money. Be ready to give generously to
those in need rather than padding your retirement account. Be ready to answer
the call for volunteers at the homeless shelter. Be ready to help a friend in
need or even a stranger whom God might bring your way. Pray about going on a
missions trip or giving to missionary organizations that care for the poor and
spread the Gospel.
And if it costs us something, even if it depletes a
savings account or causes us to live a simpler lifestyle, then that just might
be a part of God’s plan too. For when we live in a land of plenty it is just
too easy to slip into a comfortable lifestyle and forget all about the God who
created us and longs to be there for us in our time of need.
I know this isn't a popular message – people in our culture who do such things are sometimes
called “Jesus Freaks” or “Religious Nuts” or whatever – but it is what the
American church needs right now. It’s what I need and it is likely what you
need.
We’ve been born and raised in churches where moderation
is esteemed, the love of money is excused, and people serve both God and money at
the same time without giving it a second thought. Let’s answer God’s call to
serve Him and Him alone. Let’s kick our love of money to the curb. Let’s put
aside our moderation and be extreme in our devotion to the One who created us
and sustains us. Let’s be extreme in our love for God and for our fellow man,
even if it costs us something.
After all, His love for us is extreme. Shouldn’t ours be
the same?
Pray with me: Lord Jesus, thank you for your extreme love
for me, that you died on the cross for me and my sins are forgiven. You gave
your life for mine and I gladly give mine back to you once again, especially in
this area of how I spend my money, my time, and my energy. I commit myself to
making you my master; I will serve money no longer. I will pursue you and your pleasure
above all else, above making more money or advancing my career or having more
time for television or sports or anything else. You are my Master and I give
you first place in my life…continue praying as you are led…
For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:
Luke 9:1-3 When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave
them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he
sent them out to preach the kingdom
of God
1 Tim 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we
have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get
rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs. NIV
2 Tim 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the
last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful,
proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form
of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. NIV
Heb 13:4-5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be
content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you." NIV
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs , Colorado
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