Legit - Who are you Serving? Serve God.
22“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.” 23“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” 24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
MATTHEW 6:22:24
WHO IS OUR MASTER?
All of us are serving a master, this is a reality. Whatever controls us is our master and lord.
When something other than God becomes our master, it becomes an idol for us, things that we will always want more of. In his book “Counterfeit Gods”, Tim Keller reminds us that what we call as “psychological problems” like perfectionism, workaholism, or chronic indecisiveness are actually issues of idolatry.
We can easily say that Jesus is our Lord, but when we look closely into our lives, there may be idols that dominate us. Our master should be who we daydream about and to whom we devote our money.
WHO ARE WE TRULY SERVING?
The Bible tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body. A good eye is full of light making our sight clear and helps keep our bodies protected from harm. But a bad eye has darkness and it puts our whole body in danger because we cannot see clearly. Jesus tells us further in the story of the laborers in the vineyard that a bad eye is envious of the generosity of the good God (Matthew 20:15). This occurs when we serve money more than God.
How does a clear eye and a bad eye see treasures according to Matthew 6:22-24; 20:1-15?
| CLEAR EYE | BAD EYE |
|---|---|
| Treasures in heaven | Treasures on earth |
| Heart in heaven | Heart on earth |
| Serves God | Serves wealth |
| Generous | Stingy |
| Rejoicing | Envious |
| Gracious | Rude |
| Body full of light | Body full of darkness |
The condition of our eyes tells us whom we are truly serving. We naturally hold on to the things that we serve more. Jesus tells us that we cannot serve two masters, we will love one more and love the other less. We cannot serve God and wealth.
Money can be dangerous because it has a power to counterfeit the attributes of God. If we have money we can buy things we want, eat the food we like, travel to places we dream of, get an education, buy a car, get a security, and even breed an identity. From the world’s perspective, if we have money, we will be happy and satisfied. However, if we are not watchful, money can easily take the place of God in our lives. We should not trick ourselves, rather we should learn from the mistake of King Saul (1 Samuel 13:11-14; 15:12, 24).
We can truly serve God in our home, in our community, in the workplace and in the church.
Serve God in the Home (Philippians 4:4; 2:3). The Bible tells us to be joyful. Whenever you get tired and frustrated attending to your family needs, you need to remind yourself of rejoicing in the Lord and being thankful in all circumstances. In the family, men are balancing the demands of their family, work, ministry, and many other things. They should learn to focus on what God wants them to do. They cannot be all for all. In the home, women are the thermostat who set the temperature of the family. You know everybody is happy when women are happy.
Serve God in the Community (1 Peter 4:8-9). We can be very stingy with our neighbors but if we are generous with our time and resources for them, we can make a difference and be a lighthouse that will draw them to God. Try inviting your neighbors, with the children and elderly parents, in the home for a time of get together and Bible fellowship. Keep in mind that what you love more will take your time, what you love less can easily be taken for granted.
Serve God in the Workplace (Colossians 3:23-24). If it is God whom you are truly serving, you should model excellence, punctuality, competence and integrity at work. Your boss and co-employees will see in you the light of Christ because of your motivation. Employers who are followers of Christ should reflect the glory of God, helping to make the world a better place and spreading the gospel to employees who are within their immediate sphere of influence.
Serve God in the Church (1 Peter 4:10-11). Get to know the people around you every Sunday and ask them how you can pray for them. Volunteer to serve in the church using your gifts. You will not know your gifts unless you serve. You may also serve as discipleship leaders and make time to make disciples who will make disciples.
God, having given us everything, will He not truly want the best for us? Will He not take care of us? Why then should we not make Him the Master of our lives?
- from 4W's