No one can serve two masters

It has been said, “If there is anything you have that you cannot give away in a moment’s notice, you don’t own it; it owns you.”  I first heard this in a sermon while in college, which means I didn’t have much.  But I had two things that caused me pause, a high school class ring and books.  I knew how much my mom scrimped and saved and did without, so that she could make sure I had a class ring.  And even then I was beginning to gather books faster than I could read them.  I didn’t want to give them away until I had the chance.  What do you have right now that you would find it hard to give away in a moment’s notice?

That sentence revealed areas I needed to make sure I that was a steward and not a king.  It led me to have a conversation with my mom the next time I was home about the value of the ring.  And it caused me to begin to systematically attempt to read the books I had, so that if someone else could benefit from them I could easily and quickly pass them along, not worrying if I would see it returned.  So let me ask again in a different way: what do you have that owns you?  Having money has never been the issue.  Abram was very wealthy — so much so that when Lot is captured (Genesis 14 where we looked at a few verses as Abram is returning from rescuing Lot), Abram takes the men from his own household to go and rescue Lot.  No, having money isn’t the issue.  As I Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”  Or Matthew 6:24: “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.”  And Hebrews 13:5 wraps it all up, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with whatever you have, for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

When I looked at that class ring and the shelves of books, I committed to the Lord that He was more important than any of them.  And if He wanted any portion of them, they were His, as I did not want them to own me, but instead I wanted to be owned as a servant in Christ wholeheartedly.  What about you?  As you look at all that the Lord has placed in your care, what owns you today that you need to turn loose into the Master’s hand? 

Pressing on…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor