Matt 6:24-34 You can’t serve two Masters CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

These are primarily instructions to Jews because they were overly concerned with the temporal things of life – food, drink and clothing. These were things that the Gentiles were worried about. Jesus wanted them to seek the kingdom of God (first mention) and his righteousness, instead. As you can see from Rom 10:1-4, they missed it.

In this passage are contained some universal truths that we cannot fail to overlook.

1. You cannot serve two masters. That’s a fact. Joshua told the Jews to choose whom they would serve (Jos. 24:15). Elijah caused the Jews to choose between God and Baal (1 Ki 18:21). Eve tried to serve two masters in Gen 3 and failed; she ended up choosing the devil over the Lord and we were all cursed as a result.

2. You cannot serve God and money simultaneously. If you truly serve God, money won’t matter to you. If you serve money, you can’t serve the Lord (1 Tim 6:10a; Rom 16:17-18).

3. The more you serve God, the less concerned you will be with your basic necessities. Jesus didn’t even have a home (Lk 9:57-58). Paul was content to serve the Lord even when he was hungry and thirsty (Phil 4:11-12). Job esteemed the words of God more than his necessary food (Job 23:12).

4. The more you serve money, the more concerned you will be with your basic necessities. The rich ruler passed up eternity because of his riches (Lk 18:18, 22, 24). The Pharisees justified themselves rather than let God justify them because they were covetous (Lk 16:13-14).

5. The more you serve God, the greater your faith will be. In the beginning of the church, the disciples pooled their resources so that everybody would have their needs met, Acts 4:31-37. They trusted God instead of their possessions.

6. The more you serve money, the less your faith will be. “Money obscures faith,” the old time preachers would say (1 Tim 6:8-10). Ananias and Sapphira couldn’t trust God, so they kept back part of the proceeds. Today the more men preach about faith the less they actually have since they are simply building their pocketbooks.

7. The more you serve God, the more you will seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Everything is to be done to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). When we work, we are to work as to the Lord (Col 3:17, 23).

8. The more you serve money, the more you will worry about tomorrow. You will be like the fool who became so overly concerned with his bumper crop that he neglected his soul (Lk 12:16-21).