Two Masters
With today’s message, we conclude our short series on the proper relationship between Christians and material possessions. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. While I use the terminology “possessed by possessions” as the subject of my messages, the meaning is the same as what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. There is a master-slave comparison in which we are either ruled by Christ or by our personal desires. We cannot be “possessed” by both.
When Jesus preached His sermon, He confronted people who were convinced material possessions were a sign of favor with God. This was not only a Jewish belief but is a natural assumption dictated by the depraved human heart. It is as if our relationship with God is quid pro quo. We achieve favor through works of righteousness and God rewards accordingly. Thus, the wealthiest people must have achieved their favor because they are more righteous than the poor. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he warned against this by saying it is the corrupt mind destitute of truth that thinks this way. They suppose that gain is godliness while the truth is that material possessions too often cause us to fall into temptation and lead to destruction (1 Timothy 6:5-11).
If material goods are a sign of righteousness, then most of church history is filled with unspiritual failures. Not many Christians are worldly wealthy and I have spent most of my Christian life fellowshipping with people who struggle with finances without achieving the bank account that many believe will rid them of the anxiety of being without financial security. Neither do many of these Christians care. Living one day at a time is enough security. They do not worry about tomorrow because they understand what Jesus said. The rat race to keep ahead of the neighbors is unnecessary. They have learned to be content with Christ and believe daily sustenance is sufficient. It is all they were promised and all they expect.
As we look back through the centuries, we do not find that many Christians escaped the same economic, social, and political calamities that fell on others who never knew Christ. The same plagues of sickness in the Middle Ages killed believers and unbelievers alike. They were victims of the same world wars that brought destruction across the globe. They lived through the Great Depression with its stock market crash, the climate change of the dust bowl, the lack of food and skyrocketing unemployment. Christianity never promised we would escape these because it never needed to. Our faith in Christ is not about what we gain in a world that is sure to pass away. James said our lives are but a vapor that appear for a little time but soon are gone. If we invest ourselves in this world, we have a failed investment before we even think of speculating. This promise that the world’s system will end in a great conflagration is as sure as any promise God made.
The scriptures continually warn about trusting in riches because of their enormous potential of diminishing faith in God. The more we have the less time we are apt to spend praying for what we need and being thankful for what we are given. Many Christians fail to understand that pain, suffering, economic hardships, and other disappointments are designed to be steppingstones of faith. We learn to trust God when we must trust God. Dr. R.C. Sproul was well-known for saying that believing in God is different from believing God. This is true for our justification and our sanctification.
Trusting God rather than wealth yields at least four precious promises from our Lord. (1) All our needs are supplied – Matt. 6:33. (2) Freedom from anxiety – Matt. 6:25-34. (3) Contentment – Heb. 13:5 (4) Eternal life – John 5:24; 10:10. While history proves that Christians suffer many of the common ailments the worldly incur, there is nothing we take from the world that sustains the life that no one wants to surrender. “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we carry nothing out. (1 Tim. 6:7).
Pastor V. Mark Smith