"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Luke 16:13

    This is just one of those verses that I used to conveniently quickly read through without giving it much thought. What’s worse is that I hardly ever remember reading the 2 verses after it (which I will get to in a minute).

 

 

    Jesus draws quite a definite line in the sand here. Making it completely black and white. Remember, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. This doesn’t become more relevant until you decide and make an attempt to free yourself from the bonds of money.
 
    I would take a guess that when it comes down to it, money is probably the biggest culprit in keeping us from following the Lord with our entire life. When you first think about serving God full time (Instead of part time! That just sounds wrong. Let me make my opinion clear, the Lord does not want any part timers, He wants all full timers.) the first thoughts are fear. More than likely the fear of upholding your financial responsibilities.
 

    In reality, you probably can’t serve God full time because that position has already been taken in your life…your job. And why do you have your full time job? To support your lifestyle. If you take away all the fluff, that’s what it amounts too, you work because you have stuff that requires money to maintain. So in order to maintain it you have to trade your time for money. Money is your master, and you are it’s servant. Every month money places a demand on your life, if you don’t fulfill it’s orders then your world begins to crumble in on you.

    Being a servant of money means you do what it tells you to do. When money requires you to work 40+ hours a week, you do it. When money requires you to make a house payment, you submit and do what is needed to make the house payment.
 

    Being a servant of God means that you do what He tells you to do. When God requires you to work for Him 40+ hours a week, you do it. When God requires you to forsake your house, you submit and do what is necessary to obey God.
 

    Most people believe they can’t serve God on a “mission” (not necessarily an overseas mission trip) because they think that means time off from work that they can’t afford, and money required to go wherever is needed.
 

    The simple solution is to remove the needs for the requirements of money in your life. Begin to free yourself from it’s bondage. Believe me, I know it’s much easier said than done.

    It’s been a year for us, and we made a deliberate decision to come out from underneath the bondage of money. If that means selling our house, so be it. If that means quitting my job, so be it.
 

    Nothing we have (house, car, job, etc.) is impressive to God. It is only impressive man.

14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, naturally scoffed at all this. 15 Then he said to them, "You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What this world honors is an abomination in the sight of God."
Luke 16:13-15
 

    I remember hearing this verse consciously for the first time. I couldn’t believe He said what the world honors is an abomination in the sight of God. You mean to tell me the kind of car I drive, the house I buy and decorate, my job, etc. is actually detestable in the sight of God??!
 

    When we got the trailer a few weeks ago one of the first things I wanted to do was to get a new paint job as soon as possible. The outside of this trailer was old looking and had dirt and mold stains on it. But, the Lord spoke to my heart and used this to teach me a lesson. What was my reason for being more concerned with the outside appearance rather than the inside (it needed repairs as well)? It was for the world. Painting the outside of the trailer doesn’t help us one single bit, it just makes it more presentable to the world so that maybe we won’t look like we’re totally trailer trash. This was a picture of not only my heart, but many others.

"Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Matt 23:27-28
 

    Jesus apparently had to deal with this before. It was nothing more than pride in my heart. When we are more interested in what the outside world thinks when it comes to our lives (making sure we have the right car, house, job, toys, etc.) we are hypocrites and liars. Those status symbols are actually an adomination to God. They become our idols. Instead of wooden statues that we bring our sacrifices to…our idols are our cars, houses and toys where, every month it requires a sacrifice. So we open our wallets and feed the idols their desired portion so that we don’t upset the “gods” (banks,mortage companies, and credit institutions.)
 
    We have to choose who we will serve.  We can’t serve both and sit on idle not making a definite decision that brings forth physical reaction.  To do nothing defaults as choosing money over God.

What To Take From This:  Believe me, I understand the significance of the words above, and I understand how impossible it seems to even consider not being a servant to money. But, like I’ve said, IT’S A PROCESS. Don’t expect to be free from these things overnight (it could happen), but make a decision this day that you will no longer be a servant to money and begin to take the first steps, no matter how small, towards becoming free.
    The first step is taking this to our Father. We must approach Him the same way we would approach our physical father when we have a need. Begin to tell Him your heart and simply give Him the access to your heart and the right to make the changes necessary so you can be a servant to Him. He already knows your current condition, you’re only hiding from yourself. Become vunerable to God and allow Him to work in your life. Money is THE stumbling block when it comes to serving God full time. Have courage and confront it. Approach your Father by the blood of Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness, guidance and the necessary things to become free.
   

P.S. Just because I wrote this article doesn’t mean I’m fully free.  Although, I’m much more free than I was a year ago.  Things are still scary and hard to do.  But I’m moving forward, and that’s the most important part.