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Two Masters
By Grant Phillips
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a
jealous God:”
(Exodus 34:14)
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else
he will hold to the
one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot
serve God and
mammon.”
(Matthew 6:24)
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and
love the other; or
else he will hold to
the one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot
serve God and
mammon.” (Luke
16:13)
“And
though they
worshipped the Lord,
they continued to
follow their own
gods according to
the religious
customs of the
nations of which
they came.” (2
Kings 17:33 NLT)
We live in a time in
which the term
“multitasking” is
quite familiar.
Children can watch
television, listen
to music through
their headphones,
and do home work.
Women are probably
much better at it
than men, because
they so often are
doing several things
at one time,
especially if they
have children. We
think of computers
multitasking by
having several
programs going at
once, but they
actually switch back
and forth between
the programs so
fast, we are not
aware of it.
When we are
multitasking things
in our lives, can we
actually devote 100%
of ourselves to any
one thing? I don’t
think so.
Can we multitask who
we serve as master
of our soul?
According to the
sampling of verses
above, God says that
we cannot. We must
either serve Him,
and Him only, or
serve other gods and
not Him. This would
of course, include
“flipping back and
forth” between who
or what we serve.
Notice 2 Kings 17:33
above. The Assyrian
king had removed the
Jews from the
northern kingdom, Samaria in particular, and
had replaced them
with people from
other nations. He
later sent a Jewish
priest back to teach
these people how to
worship the God of
the land, Jehovah.
In the thirty third
verse we see these
same people
worshipping the
Lord, but continuing
to follow their own
gods. Are we any
different today?
We see in Exodus
34:14 above, that
God will tolerate no
rival. Jesus clearly
says in Matthew 6:24
and Luke 16:13
above, that no man
can serve two
masters. There is no
“straddling the
fence” with God. We
are either with Him,
or we are not, but
we cannot be both.
So why do we even
try?
In the Biblical
sense, to “serve” a
master is to; be a
slave to; to obey
and submit to; to
yield obedience to.
Obviously, God
expects our
un-compromised
allegiance to Him.
Ironically, unlike
any other master, He
will not force it
upon us. He expects
our absolute
devotion to be
totally voluntary.
He has removed all
the barriers. Now,
who will we serve?
One of my greatest
concerns on behalf
of mankind, is the
legitimacy of the
salvation some say
they possess, when
the devotion to one
Master, God, does
not seem evident.
Could we be guilty
of not taking this
requirement of God
seriously? If so, we
must recognize the
seriousness of what
our Master is
saying, and do
something about it.
We must change.
I cringe at the
thought of so many
people who die
thinking they are
saved, but then
arrive on the other
side of death and
discover too late,
that they were not
saved at all. The
more I consider this
aspect of God, the
more I am convinced
of a terrifying
tragedy. Please
understand also,
that I am not
talking about
“works”. Works will
be produced in our
lives if we are His,
just as fruit will
grow on a fruit
tree. I am referring
about a devotion
deep down in our
soul that puts God
first in every part
of our lives. Even
though we often fail
Him, our whole being
still belongs to
Him, because He
means everything to
us. We have
submitted ourselves
to Him
wholeheartedly. The
answer may be seen
by others, and it
may not, but others
cannot make that
commitment for us.
Each individual must
settle this issue
personally between
themselves and God.
Have you?
One of two things
will take us out of
this world, physical
death and the
Rapture (for the
Christian).
Eventually, everyone
who has not
confessed Jesus
Christ as their
Savior and Lord,
will stand face to
face with the God of
the universe, and
give an account.
Only those who are
servants of the Lord
on high, will
already have had
their case pled by
the Lord Himself,
and will be exempt.
I honestly do not
believe that there
will be any
multitasking at that
time by those
standing before God.
Every ounce of their
attention will be
focused on what God
will say to them,
praying that it not
be what they expect,
but alas, it will be
too late.
Who is Lord of our
life? Who really is
our Master? Who do
we serve? If we
cannot answer those
questions with the
name “Jesus” after
each question mark,
we need to take an
inventory of our
life, and we need to
be honest. Don’t
cheat.
Let us not say that
Jesus means
everything to us,
knowing that we
rarely talk to Him
or listen to what He
has to say. If we
don’t long for His
daily fellowship,
how can He be our
Master? If we put
other things before
Him, how can He be
our Master? We need
to honestly evaluate
our relationship, or
lack thereof, with
Him. Do we serve two
masters? According
to Jesus, it cannot
be done. We are just
fooling ourselves,
and the end result
not something to be
desired.
Let us choose one
Master and serve Him
well. He knows we
will not be perfect,
but He expects our
total submission.
Grant Phillips
grantphillips@windstream.net
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