Matthew 6:24 - You Cannot Compromise With God; It's All Or None.
Mat 6:24: You Cannot Compromise With God; It's All Or None.
Mat 6:24 (EAV) No one can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted
to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is
trusted in).
DEVOTIONAL PEARL
In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that
would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, "Whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My
disciple." Luke 14:33. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be
given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire
for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation
and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of
selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But
these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord's and
half the world's. We are not God's children unless we are such
entirely. There are those who profess to serve God, while they rely upon
their own efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and
secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the
love of Christ, but they seek to perform the duties of the Christian
life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such
religion is worth nothing. When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will
be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him,
that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self
will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action.
SC44,45
THE FOLLOWING FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE DEEPER STUDY:
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Mat 6:24 (KJV) No man can serve two masters: for either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:24 (NIV) "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.
Mat 6:24 (NCV) "No one can serve two masters. The person will
hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and
refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly
riches.
Mat 6:24 (EAV) No one can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted
to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is
trusted in).
Mat 6:24 (CWR) You can't be totally loyal to two masters at the
same time. Eventually you'll have to choose between the two. It's
the same way with your relationship with God and the things of this
world. You can't serve God and money at the same time.
Hold to the one. That is, be devoted to one of the two masters.
[SDA Commentary]
Ye cannot. There is no neutral position. He who is not wholly on
God's side is effectively, and for all practical purposes, on the
devil's side. Darkness and light cannot occupy the same space at the
same moment of time. It is impossible to serve both God and mammon
[SDA Commentary]
Mammon. Transliterated from the Aramaic mamon or mamona',
meaning "wealth" of every kind. [SDA Commentary]
"Mammon" is from an Aramaic word denoting "what is stored up"
(property). Hence it came to have the meaning of riches or wealth.
Etymologically it may refer to anything in which one puts his trust.
[Believer's SB]
Wealth translates Mammon, the Aramaic word for tangible
possessions, which can take control of human life. [Cambridge Annotated SB]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
Kingdom citizens have an "in-secret" relationship with God
(6:1-5), knowing how (vv. 6-8) and what (vv. 9-15) to pray. Such prayer
has nothing to do with outward show (vv. 16-18). With our attention
on heaven (vv. 19-24) and our trust in God as Father, we are freed
to concentrate on kingdom living (vv. 25-34). Because relationship
with God is "in secret," we do not judge others (7:1-6), we
consciously depend on our Father (vv. 7-12), and we choose His "narrow gate"
(vv. 13-14). As we do, God's power is exhibited in our good lives
(vv. 15-23) and obedience (vv. 24-29). [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
Chapter six is a small book on Christian spirituality. Our full
worship to God should include: ministry to the needy (vv. 1-4), prayer
(vv. 5-14), private forms of spirituality (vv. 19-24), and leaving
things with God (vv. 25-34). [Disciple SB]
6:19-24 Treasures evidence heart attachment. In Matthew 6:1-8
the focus was on the choice between receiving rewards from men or
from God. In 6:19-34 the focus is on the choice between the treasures
of earth or the treasures of heaven. Notice the reason for God
being concerned about where believers hoard their treasures (6:21).
God wants the hearts of his followers to be permanently with him,
not captured by the things of earth that will soon disappear.
Impaired vision affects a person's whole body (6:22-23), and similar
damaging consequences result from an obsession with money (6:24). The eye
illuminates the body and gives it the ability to see the world around it.
Without the aid of sight, it is easy to get lost or be deceived.
Similarly, when a person lives for money, he is blinded to the truth about
life and can be easily led astray. For such a person, dark and light
are difficult to distinguish. True vision can only be found by
serving God alone, the true master. [New Bible Companion]
Freedom from anxiety, which arises from trust in God, comprises
the theme of vv. 19-34. The new way of life demands the abandonment
of commitment to earthly treasures (vv. 19-24). The only true
treasures are heavenly ones (vv. 19, 20). Citizens of the kingdom must be
single-minded in devotion to God (vv. 22-24). Anxiety denotes impoverishment
of faith and is alleviated when ambition is directed toward God's
kingdom and righteousness, since God can be trusted to provide the
necessities of life. [Believer's SB]
SECTION HEADINGS
Jesus teaches about money (6:19-24)
Teaching about Money and Possessions
True Riches (6:19-24)
God and money (6:24)
God Is More Important than Money
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (6:19-24)
Serving Two Masters
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Matthew 4:10 (KJV) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,
Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve.
1 Tim. 6:9-10 (KJV) But they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which
drown men in destruction and perdition. [10] For the love of money is
the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.
James 4:4 (KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
1 John 2:15-16 (KJV) Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not
of the Father, but is of the world.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Christ does not say that man will not or shall not serve two
masters, but that he cannot. The interests of God and the interests of
mammon have no union or sympathy. Just where the conscience of the
Christian warns him to forbear, to deny himself, to stop, just there the
worldling steps over the line, to indulge his selfish propensities. On one
side of the line is the self-denying follower of Christ; on the other
side is the self-indulgent world lover, pandering to fashion,
engaging in frivolity, and pampering himself in forbidden pleasure. On
that side of the line the Christian cannot go.... Christ is to live in
His human agents and work through their faculties and act through
their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to His will; they
must act with His Spirit. Then it is no more they that live, but
Christ that lives in them. He who does not give himself wholly to God
is under the control of another power, listening to another voice,
MB93-95
It is no more possible to "serve two masters" than it is to
focus the sight intently upon two things at one time or to concentrate
the thought upon more than one idea at a given moment. To attempt to
serve God with a divided heart is to be unstable in all one's ways
(see James 1:8). The Christian religion cannot accept the role of
being one influence among many. Its influence, if present at all in
the life, must necessarily be supreme and must control all other
influences, bringing the life into harmony with its principles. [SDA
Commentary]
"Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24). By trying to
serve two masters, they are unstable in all their ways, and cannot be
depended upon. To all appearances they are serving God, while at the same
time in heart they are yielding to the temptation of Satan and
cherishing sin. They may speak words that are smoother than oil, yet their
hearts are full of deception and deceit in all their practices.
Professing to be righteous, yet they have a heart that is desperately
wicked. Of what profit is it to say pleasant things, to deplore the
work of Satan, and yet at the same time to enter into the fulfillment
of all his devices? This is being double minded (Letter 13, 1893).
7BC938
To yoke up with those who are unconsecrated, and yet be loyal to
the truth, is simply impossible. We cannot unite with those who are
serving themselves, who are working on worldly plans, and not lose our
connection with the heavenly Counselor. We may recover ourselves from the
snare of the enemy, but we are bruised and wounded, and our experience
is dwarfed (RH April 19, 1898). 5BC1086
Jesus says we can have only one master. We live in a
materialistic society where many people serve money. They spend all their
lives collecting and storing it, only to die and leave it behind.
Their desire for money and what it can buy far outweighs their
commitment to God and spiritual matters. Whatever you store up, you will
spend much of your time and energy thinking about. Don't fall into the
materialistic trap, because "the love of money is the first step toward all
kinds of sin" (1 Timothy 6:10). Can you honestly say that God, and not
money, is your master? One test is to ask which one occupies more of
your thoughts, time, and efforts. [Life Application SB]
In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that
would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, "Whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My
disciple." Luke 14:33. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be
given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire
for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation
and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of
selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But
these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord's and
half the world's. We are not God's children unless we are such
entirely. There are those who profess to serve God, while they rely upon
their own efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and
secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the
love of Christ, but they seek to perform the duties of the Christian
life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such
religion is worth nothing. When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will
be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him,
that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self
will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action.
SC44,45
I have learned that life is less about gold and glitter and more
about God and grace. [unknown]
If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have
that money can't buy. [unknown]
|
|
