Two masters, Who do you live for?

“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