Part 4
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. Matt 6:24 KJV
There are a few adjectives that we need to look at in order to understand the weight of what Jesus is placing before us. As we look at why it is not possible for any man to serve two masters, we need to consider the disposition of heart that makes this so. Let us quickly add also that no two masters will share a slave. It will be confusion. Definitely God will not share his servant with another; otherwise He ceases to be LORD.
The human heart can only submit to one Lord at a time. In other words, only one Lord can have rule, dominion and control over the heart of a man at a particular time. So, Jesus said, you either hate or love; either care for one or despise the other. Love is about affection; what or who the heart turns towards. It is the direction our hearts go no matter the circumstance. It is a matter of being single eyed! To try to love two persons equally is madness and impossible. It is like trying to go forward and backward at the same time. Is it possible? Love cannot be 100% in two directions. Therefore, either we love one and love the other less or hate the other!
The valuation of God and mammon (money and possession) cannot be the same in our eyes. It is this value that determines our esteem for the one we enthrone as the master. In your eyes who is greater, better, worthier? God or money? Which one do you admire more? Those who are not single eyed will quickly say, ‘both are important.’ But both cannot be of equal valuation? What Jesus is saying is clear, ‘you must think less of either God or Mammon for you to serve either.’ Until you settle in your heart very deliberately who deserves more esteem than the other, you will find yourself not whole hearted about any definite course. In reality it is the one you admire more that you will serve.
The word serve ‘douleuo’ is to be in (voluntary or involuntary) bondage to something or somebody. And you know that here we are talking of ‘voluntary bondage’ to either God or mammon.
We cannot even talk of being single eyed about God or Mammon when you have not decided who is greater and deserving of your loyalty. To be single eye is that one of these is trying to distract your attention from the one you have given your heart to and you are resisting the distraction. If you have not given your heart to God you cannot be distracted by material possession; you are yet undecided. It is the one who has made up his mind about who he should serve voluntarily that needs to keep his focus because the other is trying to woo him to reconsider. The first issue is, where does your loyalty lie? Who really commands your attention?
How do you know who is having the upper hand in your life, that is, who is controlling your life? One question to ask is: Who or what are you working hard to please? What is all your labor about or for? What is the aim of all your efforts? Another helpful question could be: Who is instructing you to do the things you do? Who are you paying attention to? Just as a servant will listen to his master, we must discern the voice behind our actions. If it is not the Spirit it will be self. And self will always seek after earthly, material ease and comfort.
I wish to address you who has made Christ your Lord. Can you be single eyed on the One who loved you and gave himself for you? Can you shift your focus away from the distractions to gain the world and not lay treasures in Heaven? Can you separate from everything that emphasizes gaining more of this worldly wealth than being rich toward God through good and Godly works? From many sides, the Church and every sector of the world, we are being bombarded and allured to give more attention to Mammon more than God. Can you be watchful of those tendencies by which Mammon is increasing while Jesus is decreasing in your life?
Our hearts are like grounds, if we refuse to cultivate them, weeds will spread fast over them. And to love mammon is like having weeds spread over uncultivated ground (heart).