Devoted

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

There are many things about which I will never compromise. One of these is my loyalty to the Boston Red Sox. I have loved the Sox from my earliest recollection. At 6 years old, I would take my baseball cards to school and trade for every Red Sox player I could get. To this day, when I look at my older cards, I have 6-8 of many Red Sox players. The fodder for my trades was every Yankee card in my possession. It seemed like a betrayal to even have any Yankees in my collection!

As Jesus taught His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, He challenged them on the subject of devotion. Jesus made it clear to them that it was not possible to live in pursuit of two goals. As they embarked on this journey of discipleship, He wanted them to know that this was not about giving God some time and attention. It was about giving God everything–all of their time, all of their attention, all of their energy, all of their devotion.

Now of course, we have to live, we have to work, we have to provide for our families. The Scripture is clear on the subject of working diligently (II Thessalonians 3:10-12). So what is Jesus saying to us? He is not saying we shouldn’t work–He is saying even in our work, we must be devoted to Him. We can work to accumulate wealth. Or we can work to glorify God (Colossians 3:17). You are devoted… but to whom?

-Pastor Mike