Because no one can serve two...
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:24
Because no one can serve two masters, when soccer player Mark Uth was loaned from Schalke 04 to 1. FC Köln a few years ago, he was not allowed to play against his own club.
Because no one can serve two masters, many parents struggle with the balancing act between child and career – between day care and the workplace.
Because no one can serve two masters, “the secondary activities of civil servants are subject to approval and are prohibited if they impair the interests of the service”.
At the end of our verse of the day, Jesus Christ gets specific: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon stands for wealth or possessions personified.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) left the Latin mammona (possessions, belongings) untranslated, and thus mammon found its way into our language.
To love God means giving Him the first and central place in our lives. The Bible says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). He demands our whole will, our whole love, and our whole heart! But there is much that hinders us and takes us captive: PC games, surfing the Internet, sports, wellness, continuing education, career, social obligations, hobbies and much more.
Yes, we have to decide for God or against God – because “no one can serve two masters”! And not to decide is then ultimately also a decision.
Today’s reading: Ezekiel 43:1-12 · Psalms 144:1-15
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