22/02/2020
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A SERVANT OF MAMMON
“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. THEREFORE I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (verses 24-25)
In the Matthew 6:24-34 passage we are studying, there is a phrase, an instruction, that Jesus repeated three times (in verses 25, 31, and 34). This instruction is “… TAKE NO THOUGHT….”
Jesus was not known for wasting words. So, if he repeated the same instruction three times in this short passage, it means something.
It means EMPHASIS.
It means this is VERY IMPORTANT.
It means PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.
For in these simple words lie the ONLY solution that Jesus gives us as our way of ESCAPE from the insidious tentacles of mammon, and its deception.
In other words, once a believer ‘TAKES THOUGHT’ for his life, he AUTOMATICALLY places himself on a slippery slope that may land him in the enticing laps of mammon! It is a natural progression, and no amount of spirituality, or love of God, can stop this progression.
This is why many of us today, even sincere believers, may have unwittingly fallen into the trap of serving mammon. We fail to understand the crucial importance of ‘TAKING NO THOUGHT’ for our lives as we follow Christ.
Yet, ‘TAKING THOUGHT’, as dangerous as it is, comes to us NATURALLY as rational human beings - even as believers in Christ. Perhaps, this is why many of us take the danger of ‘TAKING THOUGHT’ for granted. At times, we even excuse it as an inevitability of life. But this is not so! And Jesus made this clear in two other passages that speak of a concept that is similar to ‘TAKING THOUGHT’ for our lives. In both passages, the consequences are GRIEVOUS!
The first is in Matthew 13:22, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the CARES OF THIS WORLD, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”
As powerful as the word of God is in the heart of a man, Jesus tells us in this verse that the CARES OF THIS WORLD can CHOKE that word! Once choked, the word of God is effectively ‘killed’ in the heart of that man! The word, as powerful as it is, becomes totally unfruitful in that heart, leading such a person to be ‘taken away’ as a branch in Christ (John 15:2). This is how dangerous the CARES OF THIS WORLD can be. Yet, today, many of us do not run away from the CARES OF THIS WORLD! Rather, we find some sophisticated ways of justifying it.
The second passage is in Luke 21:34, “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and CARES OF THIS LIFE, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
In a similar way to the Matthew 13:22 example, the CARES OF THIS LIFE may overcharge a believer’s heart, and cause him to BE DISTRACTED, and NOT READY for the sudden return of the Lord. Once the CARES OF THIS WORLD is allowed to take hold in a believer’s heart, the door of preparation for the return of the Lord is AUTOMATICALLY shut! The result is dire – for such a believer will be ‘cut off’ and flung into judgment with unbelievers (Luke 12:46).
In other words, ‘TAKING THOUGHT’ and entertaining the ‘CARES OF THIS LIFE’ are destroyers of discipleship and followership of Christ! In truth, it is the reason that most of us are today LUKEWARM in the Spirit – in spite of our tremendous love for the Lord and His Gospel. For the intense fire of the Holy Spirit can NEVER, EVER abide in a heart that entertains the CARES OF THIS WORLD. Light and darkness CANNOT abide in the same space at the same time.
The next natural question is this: “What does it mean to ‘TAKE THOUGHT’, or to entertain the CARES OF THIS LIFE?” The answer to the question is as diverse as we have multitudes of Christians - with different levels of faith, maturity, and commitment to Christ.
Therefore, it is extremely important that we should not rush over the definition as we may have been doing – simply defining ‘TAKE NO THOUGHT’ to mean ‘DO NOT WORRY’. It is much deeper than that! Much, much deeper.
However, this is not a subject on which we can depend on Google, or Bible commentaries, etc. for valid answers. Rather, each of us needs to spend QUALITY TIME with the Holy Spirit, so that He Himself can define this concept for us – according to our level of faith and willingness to obey.
This quality time with the Holy Spirit should echo the heart-cry in Psalm 143:10, "TEACH ME to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; LEAD ME into the land of uprightness." As we engage Him on this, the definition we get from Him is what will shape our obedience on how to ‘TAKE NO THOUGHT’ for our lives.
Whatever definitions we eventually get from Him, the following points are likely to be prominent; for they cut across ALL levels of maturity in Christ.
A believer in Christ Jesus is NOT permitted to be worried!
A believer in Christ Jesus is NOT permitted to be anxious!
A believer in Christ Jesus is NOT permitted to be depressed!
If/when we engage in any of the above, we are disobeying the Lord. And this disobedience will hinder our walk with Him. But these acts of disobedience (being worried, anxious or depressed) are NOT the main problem. They are mere symptoms of a much deeper problem in our relationship with Him. Often, they reveal a LACK OF TRUST in His goodness and faithfulness. As well as a LACK OF FAITH in His ability as a Creator, Saviour, and Father.
These are serious issues that we dare not gloss over.
It is for this reason that Jesus took time in this Matthew 6:24-34 passage to assure us that the God that feeds the birds of the air is capable of feeding us – even if we do not sow or reap! And is capable of clothing us – even if we do not toil or spin!
In telling us to ‘TAKE NO THOUGHT’, what Jesus is assuring us is that our Father has ALREADY TAKEN THOUGHT of all these things for us! This is the underlying meaning of “… your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” - as we’ll see later in verse 32. According to this verse, if we pursue our basic needs in life as unbelievers do, it may be an indication that, like them, we do NOT know God. Neither do we have Him as a Father.
With God, ‘TAKE NO THOUGHT’ is not a request. It is an EXPRESS COMMAND! How have we been obeying this command? Or, have we been taking thought for our lives? Unknowingly, have we made ourselves SERVANTS OF MAMMON?
Have we???
Thanks for reading, God bless you.
(This article is PART 3 of a 21-day, in-depth study on Matthew 6:24-34. To access the full series, pls click this link - bit.ly/30PGtY4 or https://www.facebook.com/pg/no2mammon/photos/?ref=page_internal )
