Due to the Christmas week celebrations, the devotions for Thursday and Friday of this week will be from our July, 2000 archives. The live devotions will return on Monday.
Text: Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
This is not reserved as a word for "them". It is for all of us. Even the poor can suffer from misplaced values. At the same time, most of us are living within situation in which wealth & material things are expected. It can be the piece of our lives that keeps us from coming in contact with others. We must keep ourselves involved in the discipline of watching for what master is attempting to lead us. What is informing my decisions...what is the lord of my life? In a society that suffers from "affluenza" it may be very difficult to see that we are often possessed, controlled, by something that is so basic to our culture...things! In the DooDah parade, there was an SUV being pulled by ten or fifteen bikes and a few people pushing it. It was now labeled an energy-saver. As that float went by, people - including me - applauded. And yet, we all fit into that boat of wanting the biggest, the best, more of whatever we can have, and then look to justify our own allegiance to the "stuff of our lives" and the systems that help us get what we want. Remember, God still gives us all things as a gift. Gifts are given for the welfare of the whole community. We follow the vision of the reign of God not the vision of what we can have. Even in the Church we have to watch out for the times when mission and ministry to and with people is placed into a secondary position to pleasing the sources of financial support. Two masters?
Connection: In the twinkling of an eye, we make decisions to follow one master or the other. It would be a good exercise to evaluate our decisions as to what is the core value that leads us to make those decisions. It is there at that very basic level of our lives that we will begin to see the face of the power that drives us. That again, is why we continue to pray, They kingdom come, thy will be done.
O Rock of our Lives, be our foundation. Help us to be wise as we move through this day. Strengthen us that we will make the decisions of our day under the guiding light of your Reign. Amen
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