The Better Master
It was an overcast day at a secluded cabin on a northern Minnesota lake. Smoke was coming off the grill, reminding us that it was almost lunch time. My daughter ran off with some new friends to explore the yard and hopefully get a turn on the trampoline. The reason we were there was to reconnect with a buddy of mine from high school whom I hadn’t seen for probably close to 15 years.
As we made small talk about our work and our families, I shared how my wife had left her job when our daughter was born in order to be with her full-time for a season. Shortly after this, my friend mentioned how hard it had been for him and his fiancé to find the time they longed to have with their four young children as they both worked full-time jobs outside the home. I could sympathize with him, thinking of the challenges we’ve faced as young parents, even having the luxury of one parent at home. Yet, I was intrigued by my friend’s lament, as the backdrop to our conversation was their vacation property, having also just heard about the new ski boat they bought and the new home they built in town.
I don’t mean to judge the fact that they own these things – all potentially good and harmless in and of themselves. However, I wondered to myself: What is it that stops him from selling the cabin and the boat, from downsizing a bit? More importantly this morning, what is it that stops you and me from making radical changes when our lives have become misaligned with our deepest values? Perhaps we feel stuck, living with the consequences of past choices we’ve made that are not easily undone. I don’t mean to say that these things are ever easy. I can’t answer for him or for anyone else. We each must bring our choices before God and allow him to speak, and make ourselves ready to respond.
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus tells us that
“No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Friends, the simple reality is that we all live in a society that worships money. We must constantly swim against the tide that tells us to find our security, significance, and satisfaction in earthly things, rather than in God.
My exhortation this morning is this: Choose Jesus as your ultimate treasure and examine carefully whether the way you use your time and money reflect this.
While this may appropriately feel like a rebuke or a reminder of ways in which we’ve fallen short, I don’t want us to miss the word of encouragement here, either. I know many are making significant sacrifices just to be here to worship on a Sunday morning and participate in your community groups and life groups throughout the week. Many are paying taxes to support a school system you receive minimal benefit from, as you’ve chosen to homeschool or enroll your children in private school. Many have given up jobs and material comforts out of faithfulness to Christ, in order to maintain your integrity and deepen your most important relationships. To you I say: Don’t stop. Don’t grow weary. Keep going. Remember that it is worth it, and one day we will reap a reward that far outweighs any benefits this world can offer. This leads us to our need to confess our sins.