Who Is The Master?

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 KJV)

Matthew Henry’s commentary speaks of the verses prior to and including this one:

Worldly-mindedness is as common and as fatal a symptom of hypocrisy as any other, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a visible and passable profession of religion, than by this; and therefore Christ, having warned us against coveting the praise of men, proceeds next to warn us against coveting the wealth of the world; in this also we must take heed, lest we be as the hypocrites are, and do as they do: the fundamental error that they are guilty of is, that they choose the world for their reward;

We do spend more time with the things we love the most. Non-believers are correct calling out “Hypocrite!” when Christians spend more time focused on achieving the attention of men than giving attention to the Lord.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:21 KJV)

That is biblical truth, spoken by our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Why, then, do we ignore it and seek earthly pleasures as well as earthly treasures?

These words were spoken to His disciples, those chosen men who were to carry His message after His resurrection. It is doubly important to those who carry His message today.

Luke uses almost the same words:

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13 KJV)

This verse follows the parable of the unjust steward. The Pharisees mocked  and derided Him:

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15 KJV)

The Bible is full of examples of people justifying what they wanted to do. We’ve not only convinced ourselves, but we’ve convinced those around us that what we’re doing is the best way, even if it appears inappropriate – or even harmful. But, we’re not fooling God.

If we are capable of convincing everyone that good will come out of what we’re doing, how can we tell it’s wrong? The standards are laid out in the Bible, and they haven’t changed.

Christ went in to the homes of sinners and was castigated by the clergy of that time.  ‘Homes’, to me, is a key word. As with Zacchaeus, He did one-on-one. He preached messages to crowds, but met sinners one-on-one.

Christ continues to be our standard, our goal, our teacher and our God. There is nothing new under the sun, for His commandment remains the same:

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV)