13 "No servant 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."
Anybody besides me ever tried embracing both the world and God only to find that your arms weren’t quite that big??? God is looking for followers with “wholehearted devotion and a willing mind” not those who give only lip service sans heart. His desire is for our walk to match our talk. This, of course, begins from the inside out. I love King David’s words to his son Solomon before undertaking the building of the glorious Temple:
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work." 1 Chron 28:9-10 (NIV)
David knew firsthand what could happen when a heart becomes divided. His experience with Solomon’s mother Bathsheba and the ensuing consequences was certainly enough to convince him of all the heartache embracing the world entails. If we were just smart enough to play everything out to its logical conclusion and consequences I believe it would quickly nip a lot of our turning away from the Lord to the folly of our own devices. Just to be clear, the word “money” used in our verse for today is from the Greek word “Mamonas” which is a comprehensive word for every kind of valuable or material good – wealth, material possession, earthly goods, and property – used only in a derogatory sense (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids). This would, of course, cover any “idols” we would want to place on the throne of our lives over God and serve with our resources, thoughts and actions.
I find the last sentence in the 1 Chronicles passage extremely interesting and relevant to us as well. As believers in Christ, we are now the “temple” that houses the living God. We are to be in the process of “building” (sanctification) our temples becoming more and more like Christ. The process is quite simple yet, to our shame, not too often considered. Perhaps that is why David begins the sentence with the two words – “Consider now”. Give it some thought. Think about it. We have been chosen to build a temple as a sanctuary where God abides. So how are we doing in this process? I am reminded of God’s words in Haggai to the Israelites as they were slovenly rebuilding the earthly temple:
3 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. Hag 2:3-4 (NIV)
I can’t help but think if that is not what God is saying to us now. In comparing John, Paul, Peter and the likes of all the earlier followers of Christ to the modern day believers “does it not seem to you like nothing?” Yet, like David’s passage to Solomon, Haggai states the same thing from God; “Be strong and do the work”. Follow hard after Christ. Know the truth of His Word. Apply these truths to our hearts. Pray continually. Listen for His still small voice and be obedient to His commands as the Spirit brings them to light in our life. Repent (turn) quickly from the sins that do not please Him. He is one that changes us from the inside out yet we are responsible to be willing and obedient. He forces no one. We will find obedience to be a sure blessing. It is when we find ourselves yoked to the world that is the curse. Scripture is replete in backing these statements up for us but a very good summation is found in the Sermon on the Mount through the lips of our Lord:
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33 (NIV)
Seek first to love Him. Seek first to please Him. Seek first to follow Him. By placing Him first we will certainly find the sweet contentment, joy and peace that we falsely believe our “idols” offer us.
“Christians don’t fail to live as they should because they are in the world; they fail because the world has gotten into them. We don’t fail to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit because we live in a sea of corruption; we fail because the sea of corruption has gotten into us...Most ocean-going ships have pumps running constantly, sucking out any water that might have leaked into the hull. Similarly, we need to keep the ‘pumps’ of repentance running. We need to plug the holes with the truth of God’s Word. Don’t let the world sink your ship!” Billy Graham