#139 Lu. 16:13  THE CHOICE BETWEEN SERVING GOD OR MAMMON

Introduction:

    In our text today Jesus presents man with a choice that he
must make.  He must choose between two masters.  He must choose
between serving God or mammon.

I.  A look back at The Parable of The Unjust Steward

    In our text last Sunday Jesus gave The Parable of The Unjust
and Unfaithful Steward.  That parable was about a rich man who was
the owner and master of a large estate and about his steward whom
he had placed in charge of renting out his farm.  The steward was
to rent out the various tracts of farmland to different farmers,
collect the rent at the harvest and turn in the collected rent to
the master.
    However, the master got reports that his steward was not
turning in all the rent.  Rather he was skimming off a huge
portion of the rent for himself.  He was living high on the hog.
He had a gravy train.  He had a bird nest on the ground.  He was
wallowing in luxury.  He had every luxury that his greedy heart
desired and it was all at his master's expense.  Upon hearing the
report of his steward's dishonesty, the master called his steward
and required him to prepare for an audit of the books.

II.  A look at our text for today in light of that parable

     In our text today Jesus makes a statement that is a follow-up
on the parable.  It is actually a conclusion of the parable.  V.
13, "No servant 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."
    That steward in the parable already had a master to whom he
was obligated.  He was obligated to the owner of the estate who
had placed him in charge of his farmland.  He was responsible to
him and would give account to him.
    However, he in effect, took on a second master.  He took on
mammon as a second master.  The word, mammon, refers to wealth or
riches.  Actually in the days of Christ on earth the word, mammon,
was the name of a heathen god.  Mammon was considered by the
heathen as the god of material wealth and riches.  The Jews did
not recognize mammon to be a real god, but they used the word to
refer to riches and that is the way Jesus used it here.
    Now I am sure that this steward did not actually want his
riches to rule over him.  He was not trying to serve riches.  What
he really wanted was for riches to serve him.  He wanted his
riches to provide for him all of the things that he craved.  He
wanted them to provide for him all of the pleasures that his heart
desired.  He wanted his riches to bring him the honor and prestige
that he desired.
    But it did not turn out that way.  It never turns out that
way.  Instead of his riches serving him, they became the master
and he became the slave.  The more wealth he got, the more he
wanted.  The more he wanted, the more of his master's rent he kept
for himself.  The more of his master's rent he kept, the greater
the danger that he would be discovered and fired.  He had become a
slave to his money---or, at least, he had become a slate to his
love for money.
    It is somewhat like that with the love of money today.  By the
way, the Scriptures do not say that money itself is the root of
all evil.  What they do say is that the love of money is the root
of all evil.  The love of money can enslave a man or woman or even
a boy or girl.  It can make one do all manner of evil in order to
gain wealth.  Then if he is successful in gaining wealth, he is
apt to do all manner of evil in the way he uses it.
    A love for money may at the first seem to be harmless enough.
It may just cause one to get so busy making the kind of living
that he desires for himself and his family that he has little or
no time for other things.  He may get so busy making money that he
has no time for God.  He may get so busy either making money or
enjoying the money that he has made that he does not take time to
even listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He may never in his
whole life take time to get concerned about his eternal soul.  He
may never see his need of salvation.  Even if he does see the need
of being saved, he may never turn to God to learn how to be saved.
He has become a slave to his material wealth and his riches
demands all of his time and attention.  He has made his riches a
second master.
    Even a saved man may get so involved in making and enjoying
riches that he, like the unsaved, has no time for God.  Or, at
least, he may get so busy trying to make money that he has no time
for God.  He, too, has taken on a second master.  His love for
wealth and luxury has enslaved him and does not allow him to serve
God.  He, too, has made riches his second master.
    But Jesus said that no man can successfully serve two masters.
"No servant can serve two masters..."  One may desire to serve two
masters and he may attempt to serve two master, but he cannot
successfully do so.  Jesus said, "...for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other..."  The first expression speaks of the attitude
of the heart.  The second speaks of the actions.  The word, hate,
as commonly used in Scripture, does not mean "to abhor with a
bitter hatred."  Rather, it means "to love less."  If a servant
has two masters he will love one less than he does the other.
    The second expression speaks not of the attitude of the heart,
but rather speaks of the actions of the individual.  Jesus said,
"...or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other..."
The idea is that he will dedicate his time in service to one and
neglect the other.
    Therefore Jesus makes the following conclusion: "Ye cannot
serve God and mammon."  That is, "You cannot successfully serve
both God and riches.  If God is your Master, you cannot serve the
riches of this world.  If the wealth of this world is your master,
you cannot successfully serve God."
    Note that Jesus does not say that you will not serve both.
Jesus said that you cannot serve both.  You must make a choice.
You can either serve riches or you can serve God, but you cannot
serve both at the same time.
    Note also that Jesus does not say that you cannot have riches
and serve God at the same time.  Abraham served God and he was a
wealthy man.  Job served God and he was a wealthy man.  David
served God and he became a wealthy man as the king of Israel.  But
these men never put the accumulation of riches as their primary
objective in life and they never put the enjoyment of riches as
their primary objective in life.  They put the serving of God as
their primary objective.  They never let riches control their
lives and govern what they would do or not do.  They sought to
know the will of God and they sought to do the will of God.
    If you choose to serve God, then God must be your Master.
Money cannot be your master.  Wealth cannot be your master.  The
pleasures that money can buy cannot be your master.  God and God
alone must be your master.
    Even you cannot be your own master.  You cannot choose to live
as you please if you would serve God.  You must choose to live
like God pleases.  You cannot be selective in what you will and
will not do for God.  You must be willing to do whatever God wants
you to do.

III.  Seeing ourselves as stewards of God

    What Jesus recommends in this parable and in His
interpretation of the parable is that each person, especially each
Christian, ought to recognize that whatever he has in the way of
material wealth belongs to God.  It is not his own.  All that he
has belongs to God and he is merely God's steward who has been
entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of it and using
it for God's honor and glory.
    Let me suggest to you some ways that you can use what God has
entrusted to you that would be honoring to God.  You can and
should use what you have to meet the needs of yourself and your
family.  God does not want His children to go lacking.  God wants
to be generous to His children.  The Scriptures teach that if a
man will not supply the needs of his family that he has denied the
faith and is worse than an infidel in that respect.  Even an
infidel will take care of his own.  It pleases God; it honors God
for you to use what He has entrusted to you to care for your
family.
    I suggest that God would not be displeased for you to have
some of the luxuries of life.  On one occasion, God called to King
David's attention the many things that He had given to David and
God said, "If that were not enough, I would have given you more."
He was not talking about money, but what He said could most
certainly apply to money.  God loves His people and is generous
toward them.
    You can and should honor God by using what you have to support
the cause of Christ in this world.  Even in the days of our Lord
here on earth, Jesus expected His people to give of their finances
to support His kingdom work here on this earth.  I am sure you
know that Jesus organized His church and that He appointed a
treasurer of His church.  There had to be a collection of funds or
there would have been no point in appointing a treasurer.
    There ought to be regular and generous offerings to support
the work of the church.  In II Corinthians 9:7 the Apostle Paul
said, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:  for God loveth a
cheerful giver."  In the previous verse Paul wrote, "But this I
say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."  God does
not require one to give all that he has to the church, but God
does expect His people to give and give generously to the church.
God is not asking for a hand-out.  He is not asking for charity.
God is not a charity case.  God is the Master and is merely asking
His steward to use what He has entrusted to him for His honor and
glory.
    You can honor God by using what you have to help those about
you who are less fortunate than yourself and are in need of your
help.  Now let me hasten to say that God does not require that you
give to those who are too good-for-nothing lazy to work and to
provide for themselves.  I am afraid that there are growing
numbers who fit this category and all they want is a handout.  The
Apostle Paul said in II Thessalonians 3:10 that if one would not
work, neither should he eat.  You are not required to feed him.
    But just because there are a lot of people out there who do
not deserve your assistance, that does not excuse you from helping
the many who are deserving.  There are a lot of hard working
people who need our help in their time of need and God expects
His servants, His stewards, to give to them and give generously.
It is not enough to point them to some government agency which can
help them.  God wants us to help them.
    So if you choose to serve God, then God wants you to
understand that you are His steward and He expects of you to use
whatever He has entrusted to your hands in a way that would honor
and glorify Him.

IV.  A question to ponder

    Now in closing let me look back to the parable and to a
question that the unjust steward asked each one who was a debtor
to his master.  In verse 5 he asked, "How much owest thou unto my
lord?"  Now in the parable, the steward was talking about the rich
man who was his earthly lord or master.  But I would like to
direct that question to you and I am not talking about an earthly
lord.  I am talking about the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven.  Now
here is the question.  "How much do owe my Lord?"
    I do not hesitate to tell you about myself.  I owe Him
everything.  I would be lost and hell-bound if Jesus had not saved
my soul.  I would have nothing in the way of earthly goods if it
were not for the goodness of my Lord.  My health would have been
broken long years ago if it had not been for my Lord.  Everything
I have that is worthwhile is from my Lord.  I owe Him my all.
    But how much do you owe my Lord?  Are you saved?  If you are
saved then you, likewise, owe Him your all.  Is that not right?
    If you are not saved, then you have an opportunity right here
today to turn to Him and call on Him and trust in Him to save your
soul.  Ask Him.  You will find that He will hear you and save you.
I would say to you that since He is willing to save you and offers
to save you, owe Him your all.  He is your only hope of heaven.
Do you not agree?

Conclusion:

    Listen, Jesus does not ask merely that we commit our earthly
means to His honor and glory.  He asks that we commit our all to
Him.  First, give yourself to Jesus and you will not find it so
hard to give of your means to Him.  Give yourself to Him today--
right now.
    Joshua of old spoke to the children of Israel and said,
"Choose you this day whom ye will serve..."  I say to you today,
choose you this day whom you will serve.  Choose whether you will
be the servant of God or whether you will be the servant of this
world's riches.  You cannot serve God and the riches of this world
at the same time.  Which will you serve?