No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.” Matthew 6:24
Today’s passage resides at the top (or close to it) of the list of Scripture that people do not enjoy hearing. Even though it’s most often associated with money, a subject that everyone relates to in one way or another, I believe Jesus is casting a wider net. There are so many realities competing to be our master.
What about you? Think about all that competes to be your master: approval, money, acceptance, success, popularity, and so much more. Alongside our natural pull towards those masters, the world also attempts to pull at our heartstrings. The world’s agenda pulls you towards bigger, more costly, and less fulfilling masters. So, the question to wrestle with is not simply, “Who is your master?” A better question is: “What are you going to allow to master you?”
Jesus warns that whatever catches our hearts is what will master us. And let’s be honest, do you want to get to the end of your days here on earth and someone associate your name with being mastered by money? Or Or acceptance? Or popularity? Or, would you want to receive the same description as King David who was described as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). What spurred David to allow God to be his master was experiencing God’s love.
If we think about the masters of this world, none of them show love and give us value. Fame did not die on a cross for you. Money did not take away the debt of your sin. Popularity did not rise from the dead and give you a helper. But God sent His son down to this earth to die and come back to life so that there would be a restored relationship where you call Him not only master, but Father as well.
As naive as it sounds, out of all the masters we can have, I want to make the guy, who predicted His own death and resurrection and pulled it off, my master. I can follow that Master anywhere and know He has my best interest in mind. So, what about you? Something is going to try to sit on the throne of your heart. What or who is it going to be? God has demonstrated why He should be the one and He did it out of love. What is sitting, or trying to sit, on the throne of your heart?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for being the true Master of my life. The masters of this world leave me longing and searching for more satisfaction they can ever provide; they are truly empty masters. But You came along and changed everything. You reminded me of my value and worth, and when You sit on the throne of my heart, I am content and satisfied. Lord help me to keep You on the throne when other things try to pull you away. I thank You for loving me so much. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
