Christian Living

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January 4, 2012 – One Master

24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in). – Matthew 6:24 AMP

This verse is one that has for many years been lost in translation. In the NIV version of the Bible, the first sentence reads basically the same. But in the last sentence, the word money is used instead of mammon. This has in turn led Christians for many years to think that as long as they don’t live a life driven by greed that God is undoubtedly their Master. But there is so much more to the word mammon than just money.

In the Amplified version of the Bible, mammon is also defined as deceitful riches, possessions, or anything else trusted in. Now I am by no means saying that God wants us to all live a life of poverty. He wants us to prosper and enjoy life. But there is a line here that should never be crossed. If you buy things thinking they will make you happy, that is deceitful riches. If you think buying that bigger house will bring you joy, you are making more of your possessions than your relationship with God. And when you place your trust in something or someone other than God Himself, you are making it your master. Jesus says plainly in today’s verse that you cannot serve Him and something else at the same time.

Now I will be the first to admit that deceitful riches and possessions are tied to money. Money is the source of attaining possessions and wealth. But here’s the part Christians turn away from. Anything else you trust other than God is your master. In today’s world, even for Christians, trust can be placed anywhere.

In today’s world, we have peer groups for almost everything. Business owners have groups that meet periodically to discuss the latest trends and market tendencies. People who share an interest for certain leisure activities, i.e. cycling, hiking, or boating, have times when they assemble and enjoy their passion together. Many times people involved in these groups not only learn from each other, but they become close friends. They even put their trust in their relationship and their abilities. Today’s churches have even taken notes from these groups’ playbook and even adopted the catch phrase, it’s not about religion, it’s about relationship. And they are absolutely right. True Christianity has nothing to do with religion. Sure, the mainstream of society calls it a religion day in and day out. But ask a committed Christian about his beliefs and at the beginning of his answer he will tell you how much he loves His Savior and will not bore you with any legalistic details about his church, his denomination, or about his interpretation of the Bible.

The problem that has arisen in these relationship driven churches is that they have misplaced their trust. They are so focused on getting their members to spend time with each other that they forget about God. They want everyone to be connected, but they have lost sight of the One they should first be connected to. Yes, it is godly for Christians to spend time with other Christians. They can build up and encourage one another. But if the relationship the church creates between believers has the church as a focal point and not God, who’s their master? The church is.

This is a major failure on the part of the modern day church. Churches have become so preoccupied with their ministries, programs, and small groups that they have no time or just simply don’t understand the basics. They can’t explain to someone how to have a relationship with God, so they throw them into a small group and get them involved in some kind of ministry.

The Bible says that those involved in any ministry not only have to be checked out, but should also not be a new believer (1 Timothy 3). I guess churches think that having members in the church doing things will get them hooked so that they will want Jesus. But how can they want something not being taught? In the end they often want out. They are bombarded with so much stuff about God that they don’t have a minute of peace to really get to know Him personally.

Don’t think from my ranting here that new believers are the only Christians who need to grow closer to God. We should all desire to grow closer to Him. Sadly, there are mature believers who have a much closer relationship with their church than with God. And you know who they are just as much as I do. They are at church every time the door swings open. They are involved in several ministries. But they are always gossiping about others. If they don’t like the way a program in church is operated, they try to take over it or tell everyone they know how much of a failure it will be. God wouldn’t have them run their mouths like that. The truth is that they are serving a master, but they are not serving God.

What is your master? Is it your money? Is it your possessions? Is it your church? Are you ready to abandon them all and let God be your Master? Only when you let God be your Lord and Master can you truly serve Him. When you devote your life to Him you will despise anything that tries to take His place. And when the world comes knocking on the door of your heart you can boldly say, “Take a hike buddy, there’s only one master here, and it sure isn’t you.”

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