More than one master?
We read like this in Matthew 6:24, “No man is able to be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other, or he will keep to one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.” (BBE)
In the above mentioned verse, Jesus talks about two masters – one is God and the other money and wealth and His teaching was resolute, no one can serve two masters. The reason for this is that it is humanly impossible for anyone to serve two masters at the same time. Therefore, what countless people do, including believers is they let God be their master only on Sundays and let money have mastery over them for the rest of the week. They also try to juggle and balance their allegiance to God and money and eventually make them two distinct entities that will never intersect. However, the Lord establishes to us through His word that this sort of dual loyalty is certainly impossible as we will end up loving one and hating the other.It is indeed true that if we are a friend of God, by default we become an enemy of the world and vice versa if we don’t become an enemy of the world, we are not a friend of God. If we find ourselves taking God for granted, neglecting the fellowship of believers and prioritizing other things it is a definite pointer that we are serving some other master and not God Himself.
We have been looking at various things that enslave people in the previous chapters and also how the Lord desires for each one of us to be set free from every bondage. The assurance we receive from the Lord as we studied earlier is that, “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (NRSV)
Money a bad Master
One of the important areas that Jesus spoke a lot about was the enslavement to money and material possessions. Most people will not like to acknowledge that they are enthralled by money and material things. Money is essential for our basic needs and daily living, but we should be wary to not let money become our master. When money starts to dictate how we live and what we do, then money becomes our master. Many believers are lukewarm only because they are trying hard to please God and at the same time have also set their hearts on loving money.
The perils of loving Money
We read in 1 Timothy 6:10,“For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.” (GNB)
If we delve deep into the matter we will very often find that the root of many problems is money. Having money and being careful in spending money is okay, but if money is all that is on our mind and we are obsessed by it then it is definitely a problem. 1 Timothy 6:10 is very categorical that the love for money is the root problem for all sorts of evil and when money becomes our master we will surely go far away from the Lord. The outcome has also been clearly spelt out – many having been driven by this desire to get rich have pierced themselves with many sorrows. We may have heard and read numerous accounts of people who wanting to multiply their money overnight, have trusted in various schemes and were cheated of everything they invested.
Judas Iscariot – Mastered by Money, he betrays His Master
Let’s look at Luke 6:12 – 13, “At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray and spent the whole night there praying to God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles:”
The Lord Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before he chose his twelve disciples. All of them spent three and half years with Jesus. They were witnesses to all the miraculous signs and wonders Jesus performed. However Judas Iscariot who was one of the chosen twelve, let money became his master.
Look at what Judas Iscariot was doing in Matthew 26:14 – 15, “Then one of the twelve disciples---the one named Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked, "What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?" They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him.” (GNB)
Though Judas Iscariot had been with Jesus, he did not recognize Him as his master but instead was enslaved by his love for money. He went and negotiated with the chief priests and elders and sets a price money of 30 pieces of silver to betray the one who had chosen him, loved him, taught him and cared for him for three and half years. The deal was clinched but the moment Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, he was so filled with regret, and shame and remorse that he actually ran back and literally threw the money back at the ones who gave it to him. Sadly it was too late. They refused to accept it and the money that so captivated and controlled Judas did not benefit him or anyone else. The end of Judas was tragic and pathetic.
The question that Judas asked the chief priest and elders was, “what will you give me?” He forgot the fact that there is nothing that the world can give that the Lord cannot give in better measure. As long as Judas was with Jesus all his needs were met by the Lord, but still his heart was not content and was set on acquiring more money.
This is a word of caution for everyone, even for those of us who claim to be walking with God. Judas was with the best master, Jesus Himself, and was chosen with much prayer but he deliberately chose to go after money which mastered and destroyed his life. As believers if we can learn to not run after the worldly blessings but rather run to the giver of every blessing the Lord Himself, He will take care of our every need. He will satisfy and provide everything in perfect time as He perceives our needs even before we know them.
A beautiful example of God’s provision is from the life of the people of Israel while they were wandering in the wilderness, even before they could cry to the Lord to quench their thirst, He not only provided the rock from which water gushed forth but also the tree that could turn the bitter water (Mara) to sweet. The Lord has a solution to every problem we face even before it comes to us.
As parents one of the reasons why we are so sensitive to the needs of our children and take such good care of them is because they are our own. How much more will the Lord take care of us, the ones whom He created in His own image.
Francis Bacon said it this way ‘Money is a good servant but a bad master.’Once a man comes under the mastery of money every part of his being (his thoughts, his words and his deeds) will be controlled by money and sadly the only reason he will want to relate with others is if it will turn out to be beneficial to him. When money masters or enslaves us it will turn us into selfish people.
When Self Enslaves
1 Kings 21: 1-2, “Near King Ahab's palace in Jezreel there was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard; it is close to my palace, and I want to use the land for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price."(GNB)
1 Kings 21:4,“Ahab went home, depressed and angry over what Naboth had said to him. He lay down on his bed, facing the wall, and would not eat.”(GNB)
King Ahab was the King of Israel everything in the kingdom belonged to him. One day he noticed the vineyard of his neighbor Naboth and coveted after it. His plan was to take Naboth’s vineyard and convert it into a vegetable garden. When Naboth refused to sell the vineyard to Naboth, Ahab throws a tantrum. His wife Jezebel who was a wicked woman plots a treacherous plan, kills Naboth and gets the vineyard for Ahab. Ahab was so consumed by self, that he coveted a poor man’s vineyard. Both Ahab and Jezebel faced the Lord’s Judgement and a tragic end.
Today sadly,even among many siblings there is rivalry over a small piece of property. The reason for this is that brotherly love has been overtaken by self and selfishness. Many have taken their own siblings to court. We need to let go of our rights, and let the Lord give us the needed justice at the right time. If we get consumed by self, we can be certain that it will destroy us in the end.
Let’s read James 5:4,“You have not paid any wages to those who working your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. (GNB)
The Lord expects us to be people who are just and fair, especially to those who work for us or serve us. Many employers hold back the wages that is due to the one who has labored for them. They don’t pay as promised, procrastinate payment, make excuses and thereby cheat the poor. Let’s never hold back the wage that is rightly due to someone else, for if we do the Lord who is our master is watching and he will definitely take up the cause for those we have wronged and we will face due judgement.
When Lust Enslaves
In the precious chapter we looked at the life of Samson. Samson was mastered by lust and died a blind slave.
Choose the Good Master
Mark 4:37- 38,“And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat,so that the boat was now becoming full. And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction?” (BBE)
It is striking to note that though Jesus was in the same boat as the disciples, they were asking Jesus “Master, don’t you care that we are going to drown.” It seems as though the disciples were teaching Jesus how to worry. They forgot that the good Master was in their boat and there was absolutely no reason for them to worry, fear or fret as He was in full control.
It never does imply that if we are a believer in the Lord Jesus we will never face any storms in our life, but on the contrary we have the assurance that the Lord is with us in the midst of all our storms, He is in control and nothing will happen to us without His knowledge.
In another incident where a man brings his son who is dumb to Jesus in Mark 9:17, “And one of the multitude answered him, Master, I brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit ;”( RV)
When Lazarus died and Jesus came to visit Mary and Martha, Martha runs to Mary and says in, John 11:28, “And having said this, she went away and said secretly to her sister Mary, The Master is here and has sent for you.” (BBE)
If we were to contemplate on all the above mentioned miracles, none of them could be accomplished with money or self. No master who has money or even if you paid him money can calm a storm, cause a dumb man speak or raise the dead. Only the good and great master of the universe, the Lord Jesus can perform these astounding miracles in our lives. If we trust the good master completely instead of trusting in money or self, we can accomplish everything with His help and strength.
F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by : Ms. Esther Collins
