Message by Larry Thacker Jr from July 21, “Don’t Worry; Be Faithful”
Those of us who desire to serve the Lord recognize the conflict. Sometimes the choice is clear. At others we are not so sure what to do. It is right in the sight of God to work for our own provision and to have something to give to others. It is right to provide for our families. The challenge is to do these things out of faithfulness rather than fear, and to recognize the voice of the Lord if He should call us to forego material sustenance in favor of something much better.
As with all things, it is a matter of your heart. Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) And He said, ““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.” (v. 24) Verses 22-23 seem disconnected from the theme, but they do contribute to the point Jesus is making. To serve anything other than God is to serve the darkness, and it will ruin your life. Here he addresses wealth in specific, but at the root of wealth accumulation for its own sake is a self-centered existence.
This is the context for his next words, ““For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v. 25) It would have been very unusual for a slave to have more than one master, though not unheard-of. The problem with this arrangement is that he will be unable to fully commit to either. They will have competing priorities, and he will naturally come to prefer one over the other. We can have only one master. The wonderful thing is that He is unfailingly good. Jesus gives examples from the natural world to illustrate this truth. We do not need to fear that by abandoning the master of materialism for the master of everything we will be in want of the things we need for life. He is able to provide.
“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (v. 33) When the choice is clear, we must choose rightly. When it is not, we must turn to Him for the answer. If we must act, we can trust that if we have done so with a pure heart, he will direct our paths.
