“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 ESV)
The word translated here as “money,” in English, is “mammōnás.” It can mean “riches, money, possessions, property,” or “the treasure a person trusts in” (see biblehub interlinear). And a treasure does not have to be money or just money, but it can be anyone or anything that we serve with our lives and that we worship and bow down to in place of or above God. Who or what gets most of our heart, mind, passion and devotion?
And this doesn’t have to be something physical that we can see with our eyes or touch with our hands or smell with our noses or hear with our ears. This can also include treasured thoughts stored up in the heart and mind. It can be thoughts of lust or greed or hate or anger or pride or envy, and the like. It can be unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness. And/or it can be adulterous thoughts or plans for how to bring another person down.
Who or what do we serve the most with our mind, hearts, passion, desires and actions? And I know people have to have jobs and their jobs can take up a lot of their time and thinking and commitment, but we can be working a job and serve our Lord at the same time. We can be doing all that we do in our job to honor and to glorify the Lord. Such as we can be on time, be faithful to our tasks, not be slothful, and have good work ethic, and the like.
And I also know that people have families. They have spouses and children to care for and houses to clean and groceries to buy and dishes to wash and meals to prepare and laundry to do, and all this takes time, too. But we can be doing all these things and still be serving our Lord above all else, if we put him and his word and his teachings foremost in our minds, in our attitudes, in our deeds, and in our words and in how we treat other people.
And Jesus Christ sets the example for us in how we should live. He modeled for us when he lived on the earth what a life committed to God should look like. He did everything for the glory and honor of God and to show love and compassion to his fellow humans. And he did what he was meant to do on this earth regardless of how he was treated by other people, even if they lied about him and accused him falsely of things that he did not do.
He did not retaliate. He did not try to get even. He didn’t treat others like some of them treated him, but he loved them. But his example of love was to tell the people the truth regarding himself and his mission and why he was on the earth, and it was to teach them the message of the gospel of our salvation, that we must deny self, die daily to sin and to self, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we do not, but we choose our sins over God, then we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
And the things that he did and that he said to give honor and glory to God, and to show love and compassion to the people, are what got him hated and mistreated and lied about and ultimately resulted in a false arrest, a mock trial, the beating of him beyond recognition, and then his crucifixion on a cross, although he had done no wrong. He had cheated no one. He had not given false witness. He abused no one. But they killed him for telling them the truth that they did not want to hear because their hearts were hardened.
So, where does that put us? As those who profess to believe in Jesus Christ, we are to be followers of God/Christ who make it our practice to obey his New Covenant commands. We are to leave our lives of sin behind us and now follow the Lord wherever he leads us in doing what he has called us to do, and to not do the things he has commanded we not do. We are to seek out his will and purpose for our lives, and then we are to walk in that, under his guidance and direction, and in his power and wisdom and strength.
And all should be done for the glory and honor of God. And our lives are to be fully surrendered to him to do his will. And this may require that God will send us out into the unknown, to places where he knows we will be hated, persecuted, rejected, falsely accused of wrongdoing, and even killed for speaking the truth of the gospel at a time when most people don’t want to hear it. They want to hear pleasant things that make them feel good, but they don’t want to be confronted with the truth of God’s holy word.
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
Oceans
Songwriters: Joel Houston / Matt Crocker / Salomon Lighthelm
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
And I will call upon Your Name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw
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