No One can Serve Two Masters

As I was listening to the radio on Tuesday, I heard an old (I think it was) Bob Dylan song called “You’ve Got to Serve Somebody.”  It was a long song and in it he sang about various occupations and positions in life and summarized what it is they do.  But after each list he sang the refrain, “You’ve Got to Serve Somebody.  Will it be the devil or will it be the Lord?”

I don’t know if Bob Dylan ever read our text or had it in mind when he wrote this song, but it sounds similar to the words of Jesus in verse 13: 

¹³“No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”

We are servants of the Lord.  In fact, the title “Lord” given to Jesus ought to remind us of this.  The word “Lord” can be translated as “Master”.  Jesus often uses the relationship between a master and his servants to describe the kingdom of heaven.  He is the master, or his father is, and we are the servants.  A servant serves his lord by doing what he is told when he is told and how he is told.  His duty is to be obedient.  Jesus also reminds us that in serving, we can really only serve one master at a time.  Some servants are faithful.  We think of Joseph in Potiphar’s home, the wise and faithful servant in the parable who gives out food at the proper time and who keeps watch.  Some servants are dishonest such as the one in this parable.  Jesus calls us to be faithful servants.

How can we serve the Lord?

1.  Use our gifts to gain friends for ourselves.  That is the point of this parable.  The servant had not done his job well so he was about to be fired.  This left him with a huge problem.  He didn’t know how to do anything else and left to himself he would be in poverty.  So he comes up with a scheme.  He adjusts the bills of the creditors so that they would help him out in return once he was fired.  Jesus isn’t teaching dishonesty but he is teaching how using money and goods can earn favors.  Even a child realizes this.  When you went to school with a special treat, if you hoarded it for yourself, your classmates were quick to call you greedy and later wouldn’t share with you.  But if you shared, those you shared with thanked you and most likely helped you later The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 11:1

Cast your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will find it again.

This means that when we do good to others, that in return we will receive good back.  Jesus promises that this pay back extends beyond this life and into eternal life when he says, 

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Application.  Most of us have received more than we could possibly use for ourselves.  Jesus teaches us that we are serving him when we use that wealth to help others whether it be by outright gifts, giving to charity, extending favors, or helping others.

2.  Be trustworthy in what you have been entrusted. 

¹⁰“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

The servant was fired because he did not manage his master’s estate very well.  God has given us an estate to manage.  It is called the world.  We are stewards or caretakers of all that is in the world.  It is probably impossible for any one of us to save something huge like a rain forest or a river.  But we can show our love for our Lord by managing our own small corner of the world and the personal possessions that we have.  Certainly, we will try to take care of our homes, cars, businesses, bodies, children etc.  Jesus tells us that this taking care of things begins with the smallest of items.

For example: We make use of a fine church building that was given to us by members who were here 50 years ago.  You are aware of several major projects to maintain and to improve our building: Roof repair and the Building Addition.  Some of you donated time and money to seal the parking lot or replace carpeting in the parsonage.  We hire janitors to mow the lawn and to maintain the church.  But we can all take responsibility in managing the church. 

·                      Don’t leave bulletins (which when left are only trash) lying around after worship.

·                      Pick up after yourself if using the mother’s room or kitchen.

·                      Put chairs in the proper place.

·                      Shut off the lights if you are the last to leave.

·                      Help set up for meals and clean up afterwards. 

·                      Those who take the time to do these things aren’t doing meaningless tasks but are showing that they are trustworthy with a few things and can be trusted with more things.

Another way we show that we serve the Lord in the use of our gifts is our financial support of our church and missions.  This is hard for many people for a variety of reasons.  One reason is because we would rather save it for ourselves or spend it on ourselves than share with those in spiritual need.  We are by nature selfish and would rather serve money than serve the Lord.

Another reason is because we can’t see up front the value of it.  What benefit do we get from giving money to church?  Unless we itemize on our taxes, our charitable contributions aren’t tax deductible.  There is no financial reward for giving to church.  And because no one else knows how much we give, we don’t get praise for it.  We receive the same services whether we give thousands of dollars a year or no money.  What good does it do to give to missions?  That isn’t even used locally to pay the pastor or the fuel bill.  And why should I give to a ramp fund, I don’t need a ramp.