My Fort Knox - Part 2
When does providing for your family turn into an obsession with more? When does making a living become living for the making of that living?
Jesus is almost brutal in this statement in Matthew: "No one 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" —Matthew 6:24.
We tend to focus on the word "money" in this verse, but perhaps we would have a better understanding of what Jesus is saying if we considered these words: "serve," "love," and "devoted."
Those words should only apply to our relationship with God. When they apply to our relationship with the world, then we are in big trouble. Then we have not only divided loyalties, but only one loyalty. And wherever those words apply is where our "treasure" is stored (See yesterday's post).
The Lord isn't saying that making a living and loving God, are mutually exclusive. Paul, writing to Timothy says, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" —1 Timothy 5:8.
The point at which meeting basic needs turns into acquiring more toys provides the litmus test that marks the line between serving God and serving money. That line is easy to miss. Watch for it.
Jesus is almost brutal in this statement in Matthew: "No one 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" —Matthew 6:24.
We tend to focus on the word "money" in this verse, but perhaps we would have a better understanding of what Jesus is saying if we considered these words: "serve," "love," and "devoted."
Those words should only apply to our relationship with God. When they apply to our relationship with the world, then we are in big trouble. Then we have not only divided loyalties, but only one loyalty. And wherever those words apply is where our "treasure" is stored (See yesterday's post).
The Lord isn't saying that making a living and loving God, are mutually exclusive. Paul, writing to Timothy says, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" —1 Timothy 5:8.
The point at which meeting basic needs turns into acquiring more toys provides the litmus test that marks the line between serving God and serving money. That line is easy to miss. Watch for it.
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