I have to admit that coming to terms with the true nature of our hearts is hard to do. When trying to discern where the treasure of our hearts lie, or whether we are living filled with the light of Christ, it is easy to want to negotiate and maybe self-justify our deeds and actions. I am also well aware that we are often bad judges of our own character. And so how are we to know and discern the nature of our hearts? This is where Scripture comes in. Steve Evans wrote: “The fundamen- tal purpose of God’s Word is to give us true self-knowledge; it is a real mirror, and when we look at ourselves properly in it we see ourselves as God wants us to see ourselves. The assumption behind this is that the purpose of God’s revelation is for us to become transformed, to become the people God wants us to be, but this is impossible until we see ourselves as we really are.”
He bases this off of the passage:
James 1:22-25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
See it’s the word of God that is this great gift given to us and that helps direct us. It reveals to us the path on which we should be walking as the Holy Spirit does its sanctifying, transforming work in us. And yet, as I shared in last week’s bulletin, it seems that the reading of the Bible is on a decline for most people. So I want to encourage you again, brothers and sisters: If you have a concern, if you are concerned with wanting to live faithfully, diligently and passionately for the Lord… Then read your Bibles.
Yes it can be tough. It can be challenging. It is can even be boring. But it is necessary. And it is a good work to devote yourself to reading the Bible, for it is by it that we can begin to truly discern whether our hearts are in fact, postured towards the Cross or to someone/thing else. Without this mirror that Scripture is for us… Without this to measure ourselves to… it is difficult to know who truly is the Lord of our hearts and who is at the centerstage of our lives. Is it truly Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, that we are worshipping and serving? Or are our hearts directed elsewhere?
This is Jesus’ concern for us today.
He says:
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.
In other translations, most notably in the KJV, money here is read as mammon, which is a greek word that simply means wealth or material, earthly gain. In other words, you cannot serve God, while living for mammon/earthly gain. And I think for us living here in Penetanguishene, or Ontario or Canada… This can be a real challenge because many of us have far more than we need. It is because of this that there is a part of me that envies those who are forced to live simpler lives. Those with less access to goods and amenities… Less shopping and less internet… Less of all that this world offers.
What would it be like, I often wonder, to live with the barest of needs, thinking that it would allow me to have a better focused and a better attentiveness to God. And while I also believe that it is the Lord that blesses us with our homes, and clothes, food and all that we have… I sometimes catch myself feeling like I am “wanting” too much.
Recently we’ve been having trouble with our dishwasher where the top rack would not clean properly. We tried cleaning it with vinegar and chemicals with very little improvement. So my wife says that we should buy a new dishwasher. And so the trek begins to research all the dishwashers to see which ones got good reviews, reasonable costs, best features and looked the nicest.
There was an excitement in this: Getting something new! We’ve never bought our own dishwasher before, and I never thought I would be getting excited over buying a household appliance. But the prospect of getting something nice and shiny is of course often very tempting. But there was also a part of me that thought that this might be overkill. That the dishwasher wasn’t really broken and probably didn’t need replacement. That it could be fixed.
And so I took apart a few pieces and found something that was clogged up with lego pieces and chunks of food and cleaned it out with the hopes that this would solve the problem… And suddenly the dishwasher was back in perfect working order.
My wife said “Dang it…. But good job…” with disappointment in her voice.
With so much around us changing at such a fast pace we are constantly bombarded with new car models, better and faster iPhones, bigger TV screens, ever changing fashion trends and new homes on a yearly basis. And in this kind of climate, it is easy to get swept up in wanting to make more money… So that we could get more things. And we can quickly get enslaved to this consumeristic way of life in more than one way. And while we may think that it is us who takes our gain and our money to make it work for us… Jesus is warning us to not be blinded by this often false assumption.
When Jesus says no one can serve two masters, the Greek word used for “serve” is actually more an indicative of the work of a slave rather than an employee. In other words, Jesus’ concern is that, while to be a slave to God, in service to Him is good and desirable. While that is what a disciple of Christ is meant to do, and truly what marks the life of a faithful person, obedient and loyal… There is a very real and present danger that our master is not in fact God but rather mammon, material gain, and money. Jesus is saying that it is not only that our hearts are pre-occupied/distracted by these things, but in reality we are in fact enslaved to them.
“No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
So the question becomes for us, of the two, which do you hate? And which do you love?
To which will you be devoted to, and to which will you despise?
For Christ, it seems that there is no middle ground here.
You are either a slave to Christ. Or enslaved by money.
This is not to say that if you have much, that you are evil and that if you have little, then you are more faithful. That is not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying that we must be sure to keep Him as King of our hearts. In fact, God’s very first commandment to His people is “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. Perhaps when we read this we think of other faiths or religions, other deities or divine beings and spirits. But Jesus is clear here in that only the Heavenly Father is your god. When anything else takes priority over Him… When we begin to serve anyone or anything else… When we begin to live for whatever it may be that is other than God… Then that, does not only become our idol and the object of our affection but in fact, because that which we are enslaved to.
Make no mistake. We may often think that we have the power and the wisdom and discernment to know when enough is enough… But we know based on our own track records that we are easily led astray by our greedy and lusting hearts. I know that that is true for me. The Bible says that the heart is fickle and deceitful above all things… When Christ is not at the centre of it. And so, Christ reminds us that we must take care to have God remain our true King our true master.
But for this, we must ask the Lord for His help. We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us a posture of submission to Him. We must learn to come before the Cross and surrender our own desires and the wants of our hearts and say to the Lord that “You are enough.”
Many years ago, I was gifted a hoodie from a Hiphop crew called “God over Money”. And I wore it quite proudly before it started to show it age. The philosophy behind the musicians and artists was that the glory of God, our service and our worship to God, was and is and will always be more important that money. And I loved that idea because it reminded me, every time I wore it,that despite circumstances and despite (at the time) being a poor art student, who was unsure of how they were going to make a living… Having next to nothing to my name other than a lot… a LOT of student debt… That God was, and is, and always will be eternally… enough. In fact. God is more than enough.
And to know this and to live like this is a mark of godliness.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,
It is this idea, that though there may be nothing wrong with the material wealth we have gained over the years, it must be always be secondary to our contentment with the Lord.
To know and believe that the Lord is enough and all we need. It is in that knowledge that there is great gain.
7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
It is foolish of us to slave away our lives trying to gain much material and financial wealth when none of it will last. As the Bible famously puts it, we are but a vapour and all that we gain, if it is only of this world… is vanity.
But to live, in contentment, regardless of our circumstances, as long as we have food and clothing, a place to rest, and as long as we strive to make sure our neighbours and enemies have the same… Then there is in that contentment in the Lord. And it is in what He has given that there is great gain. For to live any other way would bring us only sorrow and pain.
Brother and sisters, we read in Ecclesiastes this epiphany that the author had:
18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
To serve the Lord and to be a slave to the Lord is not a joyless life. It is the most joyful of lives. It allows us to live in contentment and peace with all that is and all we have today. Knowing that our eternity is secure in Christ and Christ alone. Whether you have much or little by the standards of this world begins to mean less and less when our eyes are set on the glory that is before us that comes when Christ returns or when Christ calls us home.
And so examine your hearts by the mirror of Scripture. And let it reveal to you whether you have been enslaved to the trappings of this world. And in our repentance let us ask the Lord to set us free so that we may serve and love and live for Him as His slaves, His servants, His disciples, worshippers and children.
Amen.