OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 15

The Lord Jesus, in this verse, establishes the axiom of the hazards of split loyalty.

24 “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.

Have two masters brings about the conflict of love and devotion versus hate and resentment.

In trying to serve two masters, inevitably, situations will arise that will result in the servant having to chose between the fulfillment of service to one master over the other.

One master will rebuke the servant even though the failure to please one master  was impossible to mitigate. Hate and resentment against that master begins to fester making life unbearable.

In the verse, the Lord gives an example of two masters who some people would try to serve concurrently but would fail at doing so: God and money.

Those who would serve God have requirements on their time and resources. Those who would serve money must render time and resources to acquire and manage it.

To try to serve both at the same time would degrade into a hopeless miasma of contrary interests and ultimately, a believer, pressured by the practicalities of survival like food and clothing, would have to decide between one or the other.

The Lord, in Mathew chapter 6 verses 31 - 33, gives us the way out of this connundrum with theses counterintuitive words; 

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Amen.

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