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Gary G. Hoag
“No one can serve two masters.”— Matthew 6:24
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
"Servants think like stewards, not owners. Servants remember that God owns it all. . . To become a real servant you are going to have to settle the issue of money in your life. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters. . . You cannot serve both God and money.” He didn’t say, "You should not," but "You cannot." It is impossible. Living for ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive goals. . . Money has the greatest potential to replace God in your life. . . [There are] two kinds of people: Kingdom builders and wealth builders. Both are gifted at making a business grow, making deals or sales, and making a profit. Wealth builders continue to amass wealth for themselves no matter how much they make, but kingdom builders change the rules of the game. They still try to make as much money as they can, but they do it in order to give it away. They use the wealth to fund God’s church and its mission in the world."
Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am Here For?” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002) 266-268.
Yesterday we learned the first of five attitudes in the kingdom builder mindset: Servants think more about others than about themselves. And saw how Jesus modeled this attitude for us.
Today we learn the second of five attitudes: Servants think like stewards, not owners. Notice the recurring verb here: think. Yesterday we learned that we need to think more about others than ourselves.
Our thinking guides our actions. Our strategies determine our results. Here we learn to think like stewards, not owners. That means we have a Master to please. He's watching us. Someday we have to give a full report.
In the world, most people "think" more about themselves than others, and they "think" they own the things they possess. Some say, I will take care of my family first and then I will focus on the kingdom. Such people are slaves to money.
We should put God and His priorities first, and the rest will be added to us because God will take care of our families better than we could do it ourselves. The Master does not force us to serve Him instead of money. He invites us to. The choice is ours.
God, forgive me for thinking about myself and my family first and for thinking like an owner. Set me free from slavery to money, so I taste the joy of serving others with You as a Kingdom builder. As your steward, I trust you to care for me and my family. Amen.
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