Luke 16:13-15

Luke 16:13-15 “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight."

A master requires complete subservience, a hundred percent commitment from his servant to the success of the household. The master provides housing, food, clothing, and amenities for the servant's service. Therefore, he requires the servant to give his strength and time to him. Jesus rightly says, No servant can serve two masters, for a servant's obligation is to give his all to the master who provides for him. Consequently, the servant has to commit to one master because he does not have strength or time to serve two masters. Serving two masters would result in the servant neglecting one; this lack care would signify hatred toward the master he failed to satisfy.

Jesus tells the people, You cannot serve both God and Money. You cannot live your life for the accumulation of wealth and live for God too. Jesus' words on accumulating wealth seem very direct and impossible for us to follow. Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33) Living for this world and living for Jesus Christ are contrary existences. You cannot have a foot in both worlds; it cannot be done. You must either hate one and live for the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. I think most of us try to live in the two different worlds. We rationalize our behavior by saying we don't really love money, but is that true? I hope it is with me. But I wonder whether our biggest shouts of joy in life would be for winning a multi-million dollar lotto or because we are in the household of the Lord or another lost sinner has come home. I wonder?

Are we more happy with a new toy we purchased than with the Lord's presence? Do we spend our time exercising our bodies and providing security for ourselves or we do we seek to do the Master's work? Who do we serve? If we are really honest with ourselves, we might find ourselves enjoying our accumulated wealth and leisure activities more than serving God. I believe most Americans are culpable in this area of loving money, self, material things, and even vacations more than God. Jesus told the Pharisees who loved money, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men." They were the ones who told men how holy they were, setting the right tone between money and serving God. They substantiated their service to God by telling others how they used what they had for God, but Jesus rebuked them by saying, God knows your hearts. He knows where our hearts are; He knows what we really think and what we actually do with our money. A recent poll of Christians indicated that over 90% of Christians don't even tithe. I don't believe we should tithe as a law, but it is a worthy discipline, and our lack of generous giving indicates the state of our hearts.

Jesus says, what is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. If we highly value money and possessions, if we store up treasures on Earth, if we strive to gain worldly security, we are doing what God detests because He knows we cannot serve two masters. We will love the one and hate the other. Love requires devotion, takes time and effort. Which master do we love and serve? I don't believe there is an easy answer. We sometimes love God immensely, but do we spend time with him in good times and in bad or do we seek him with all our strength and heart during trials and not when things go well. Others evidence a consistent walk in the good times but reject God when troubles come. Are we consistent in our love and service towards God, as committed as we are to gaining prosperity? We get up every day and go to work to earn money. We perform our jobs whether we feel good or not. Do we give God the same service or is He neglected on the shelf when we feel depressed or grumpy? Is He relegated to the back corners of our lives when we desire entertainment and self gratification? Is Christ the first one we think about in the morning and the last one we acknowledge before going to sleep? Is God our master or not? A servant cannot serve two masters! May we serve the One who gave his all for us.