Who Will We Serve?
Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mt 6:24) Mammon is an Aramaic word that means wealth or money. Jesus made that statement in the context of where we make our investments; where we “lay up our treasures.”
I asked last week if God is a secure investment. In light of Jesus’ statement, the answer to that question is enormously important. You see, mammon represents more than the sum total of our checking and savings accounts. It’s more than IRA’s, stock portfolios, and bonds. Mammon represents the three “P’s”; power, position, and possessions. That’s what the average American dreams of today, and all three have one thing in common, self-gratification. It is a religion that places self at the center of the universe, and its worship is to “look out for old number one” and to “have it your way” regardless of the consequences. It’s “move up the corporate ladder” and get power; become the next American Idol and have position; get all the money you can and buy things. It’s all me, and God will not fit into that. O, we may say that He does. We brag that we are religious and that God occupies an important part of our lives, but the Lord of all creation replies that He will share His lordship with any one or any thing! In fact, He has a word for our materialistic lifestyle. It’s called idolatry.
The sad thing about all this is that the most significant proponents of this manmade and man-glorifying religion are not the Bill Gates and the Oprah Winfrey’s of the world. It’s the average church member who sits in the pew on Sunday morning singing “have thine own way, Lord” and then goes out to have it his way the rest of the week. It’s those who sing “all to Jesus I surrender” and then quickly pass or walk past the offering plate and deposit their five dollar bill, thinking they have done their part! Then, they stop at a restaurant, spend three times that for a meal and all the way home complain about the service and poor quality. It’s all me! Is God fooled by all this? Does He not know our hearts, those who are truly His? Yes, and He still hates idolatry!
Perhaps you recall the picture of the dead man with his fist firmly clinched around a silver dollar. Someone pries open his hand, takes the money, and the dead man is left with nothing. We all know, however, that the dead man had already left his money. What was in the hand of his corpse was just a symbol. He went to face God empty handed. And, so shall we if we do not place our treasures in the only place where they will be waiting for us when we get there. We cannot serve God and mammon.
Let me hear from you... what do YOU think?
I asked last week if God is a secure investment. In light of Jesus’ statement, the answer to that question is enormously important. You see, mammon represents more than the sum total of our checking and savings accounts. It’s more than IRA’s, stock portfolios, and bonds. Mammon represents the three “P’s”; power, position, and possessions. That’s what the average American dreams of today, and all three have one thing in common, self-gratification. It is a religion that places self at the center of the universe, and its worship is to “look out for old number one” and to “have it your way” regardless of the consequences. It’s “move up the corporate ladder” and get power; become the next American Idol and have position; get all the money you can and buy things. It’s all me, and God will not fit into that. O, we may say that He does. We brag that we are religious and that God occupies an important part of our lives, but the Lord of all creation replies that He will share His lordship with any one or any thing! In fact, He has a word for our materialistic lifestyle. It’s called idolatry.
The sad thing about all this is that the most significant proponents of this manmade and man-glorifying religion are not the Bill Gates and the Oprah Winfrey’s of the world. It’s the average church member who sits in the pew on Sunday morning singing “have thine own way, Lord” and then goes out to have it his way the rest of the week. It’s those who sing “all to Jesus I surrender” and then quickly pass or walk past the offering plate and deposit their five dollar bill, thinking they have done their part! Then, they stop at a restaurant, spend three times that for a meal and all the way home complain about the service and poor quality. It’s all me! Is God fooled by all this? Does He not know our hearts, those who are truly His? Yes, and He still hates idolatry!
Perhaps you recall the picture of the dead man with his fist firmly clinched around a silver dollar. Someone pries open his hand, takes the money, and the dead man is left with nothing. We all know, however, that the dead man had already left his money. What was in the hand of his corpse was just a symbol. He went to face God empty handed. And, so shall we if we do not place our treasures in the only place where they will be waiting for us when we get there. We cannot serve God and mammon.
Let me hear from you... what do YOU think?
1 Comments:
Tim,
After your comment Wednesday night, I was surprised no one has commented on your great lessons. My answer to your question from Monday's Blog is Jemma and I will only serve one master and he is Jesus our savior. We are storing up treasures in heaven by downsizing on Earth. Since I was born again in 2003, we have begun simplifying our lives and staying away from "idol worship" like a boat, a camper, eating out all the time, clothes, etc. I think our society has become complacent and the majority of the American citizens lead a materialistic lifestyle. Your article really hits home to some of my friends. I must confess that my greatest daily challenge is not to judge others as Jesus taught us not to do. He said to judge yourself before you judge others. Yesterday, I saw a new Mercedes 500 Series on I-664 in front of me and thought about materialism. As I got closer, I was shocked to see a small decal on the bumper that had a cross and said Pastor. I thought what a hypocrite, then immediately said there I go again judging others. Your article is right-on Tim and please pray for my daily strength and walk down the path of rightousness.
Blessings,
John Prosch
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