Too Many Masters

Too Many Masters

Read: Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters.”

Matthew 6:24

“Every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, a master craftsman of idols.”

—John Calvin

IN WORD Every human being is a temple. We who understand that the Spirit of God dwells in believers (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16) know this to be true of Christians. But in a sense it is true of everyone. We are either temples of the Holy Spirit, or temples of any number of idols. We are worshipers by nature, and the objects of our worship are placed on the altar of our affections.

We underestimate the power of our affections. We will pursue that which we love and value most highly. And when that happens to be something other than God—and it often is—then we are idolaters attempting to serve two masters.

Contrary to popular belief, we are not helpless captives of our hearts’ desires. We choose them. We value relationships, riches, possessions, activities, and all other cravings by choice. We choose to dwell on certain desires, possibilities, and problems. When we dream about a venture, a purchase, a romance, or a game, we do so because we want to. We are not defenseless against those idols. We feed them. And while imaginations and dreams can be used for God’s purposes, they can also fill us with substitutes for Him. When we let them, we find ourselves with too many masters.

IN DEED Jesus does not say no one should serve two masters. He says no one can. It is an impossibility. One will carry more weight than the other, in which case that one is the true master and the other is a weaker rival. And how easily we make God the weaker rival! We try to maintain our fellowship with Him while placing our greater affections on less worthy things.

Those who know the power of their affections are wise disciples. They have learned that we choose what we put in our hearts, and then we let ourselves be driven by them. We must remember: We are a house of worship, and there is only one rightful Master in that house. Anything else will pollute the temple.