COMMANDMENT 24: Two Masters
“No man can serve two masters (ye cannot serve God and mammon).” Mt. 6:24
Life is filled with choices. The servant of Christ often finds him or herself standing at a crossroads of multiple directions. It would be easy if there were just two roads to choose from (and in reality, it may be just so) but often, it seems, there are many options that call to us as we seek to find the will of God. Simplicity of life can be helpful, but is difficult to obtain in this busy world in which we live.
The Two Masters Jesus speaks of here are God and money, or worldly wealth. Though today it may seem hard to bring such a message in the marketplace of ideas, nothing has really changed as to what men are drawn to in this life. To serve God is to put his will and plan over and against all other things. Some would call that a radical idea and since the word radical means ‘root’ I suppose they are in some way correct. The root of faith has always been a willingness to trust that God knows best and will do the best for those He loves.
From Noah through Abraham, and to this current day, we see those who answer the call to serve God being empowered to a higher standard of relationship. To be called to serve God is to be separated unto Him and to no other master or thing. Out of that flows a river of compassion and determination that will render the servant useful for the true Master and carry him or her through any trials or difficulties that may come along the way.
Mammon, on the other hand, is a cruel taskmaster that strips one of the moral certainties of faith in Christ. Though it promises ease and comfort, power and influence, it can only truly deliver an entrapment to appetites and self-gratification. It justifies those things which cause men to compare themselves among themselves. Mammon is a deceitful ruler that convinces its’ slaves they are in control and that they deserve more because of their great wisdom, effort or even worthiness. It convinces them that they must grab their share of things while they can or their future may be bleak.
Paul rightly said: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Tim. 6:10)
And what instruction does he give to those who would avoid this plague of error? “. . . flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” (vv11)
It is not God who pierces the follower of mammon with many sorrows or causes him to err from the faith. It is the result of devoting one’s talents, hopes and efforts to serve the world, the flesh and, yes, the devil. Who else but he calls the believer away from God and into the pleasure of sin and that which the world has to offer? And why? Because he knows his own end, and misery loves company.
How many have left off serving Christ in order to take a brief respite to gather more resources, only to find they have lost their way back to the Master? And where could one find more resources than from the Creator of all things? This is that which Jesus called “the deceitfulness of riches.” These are the thorns that choke the Word and render the hearer unfruitful.
To avoid these things the servant must submit to God, the Master Farmer. He alone knows how to prepare the soil in order to plant the Word of God deep into the seedbed of the heart. Like the farmer who finds ground that is hard, or stony, or filled with roots, the Holy Spirit may need to plow up the soil of your heart and life in order to bring forth a good crop. And like the wise farmer, God must often bring in the heavy equipment in order to break up the fallow ground of the heart, and will do so to produce the fruit He desires in our life. It is in yielding to this process that one finds a growing hunger for the powerful seed of God’s Word and a determination to be faithful to the One who calls him or her at all cost.
When one truly sees the Kingdom as revealed through the promises of God, the greatest treasures of the world cannot not draw them away. Yet, like the Indians who sold Manhattan for a few dollars, it is possible to be deceived as to the value and purpose of what is being offered by the false master mammon. Therefore, Paul says we are to, “Flee these things.”
Do not underestimate the power this false master has for diverting the course of your life into that which “drown[s] men in destruction and perdition.” (I Tim. 6:9) Be bold in your statement of faith to God. Like Joshua did, stand up and say to the world:
“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15) As a friend of mine once said, “If you lift up the Lord today, He will not let you down.”
Like the refrain from the old gospel hymn:
“O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement,
didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master,
my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give,
henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone. “
(*Living For Jesus by Thomas O. Chisholm - public Domain)