You cannot serve two masters

Luke 16:13-15 (NLT)

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

God knows your heart.  Think about this.  God knows what you think about, what you dream about, what your true feelings are, what motivates you, what you love and what you hate (including your love/hate feelings for other people).  You cannot deceive Him. 

Jesus said that “What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God”.  Think about this too.  What do you think the world honors?  In context of this passage, what Jesus is referring to the most is the world loving money.  Paul later wrote that “the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil” (I Timothy 6:10).  Why?  Well, Jesus said that “You cannot serve both God and money”.  Simple as that.  You might protest this view, you likely might disagree with what the Lord said, but here it is in plain truth.  You cannot serve both God and money.  So, the big question to you----whom do you serve?  

Well, I’m not sure any Christian would admit that he/she serves money more than God.  Hmmmm, well, let’s see here.  How would you honestly answer these questions?

·  You worry more about how much you serve God than how much money you make?

·  You worry more about how you are going to pay for your kids’ education or live in a fixed income or how you are going to pay off your indebtedness and worry little if any about how you are pleasing and serving the Lord?

·  You worry more about your investments in the stock market and other financial systems than you worry about how pleasing your service is to God?

·  You envy your neighbor or friends who have more and/or nicer possessions than you admire a fellow Christian who has hardly anything?

·  You pay all your bills and put money in savings and other investments and spend money for your pleasures, and what’s left you give to God, if indeed there’s any left?

·  You analyze your checkbook and see that you gave as much or more money to what would please God as you gave to what you know would not please Him?

Oh, I could keep adding to this list of questions about serving God versus serving money, but you get the point.  Whom are you serving?

As I write this, I am convicted that I need to give more than I have, even if I claim to tithe.  Often I know that I am more interested serving money (working 60+ hours a week, buying things that maybe I don’t need, worrying about finances as I approach retirement) than serving God.  I confess that I worry more about money than I worry about pleasing God.  I spend more on my needs that give to the needs of others.  Were I to be judged today at the Judgment Seat of Christ, God would have to wipe away my tears because I would see the selfish way I use my money.  I must change my ways. 

Do you need to make some changes too?