“No one can serve two masters”, says Lord Jesus. Sounds fair enough, doesn’t it? I am sure not any of us have been slaves with masters. It might be technically possible to have two masters but would be practically impossible to serve both.

After all, isn’t it the very essence of modern life that we have multiple responsibilities and competing commitments, and isn’t it the mark of mature adulthood that we manage to balance those numerous responsibilities and maintain our multiple commitments to the various persons to whom we are responsible? It’s not like loving two children or working two jobs. It’s more like trying to be a devoted fan of two football teams that are in competition with each other. It just doesn’t work. You end up either on one side or the other – ‘hating one and loving the other or holding to one and despising the other’.

‘Consider the birds of the air’, Lord Jesus says. ‘They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet they seem to be doing alright!’ They don’t have savings, bank accounts, houses or any sort of worldly security, but they don’t have mortgages or bills to pay either. They seem to be doing just fine! And ‘consider the lilies! They never worry about clothes, but they look great!’

Perhaps we fall into the category of serving mammon during the week and God on the weekends. We can’t do both, our Lord Jesus is very clear about it. You can’t serve both masters. You can’t build God’s Kingdom if you’re busy building your own empire. You can’t pour yourself out for God and for those in need if you’re busy pouring yourself into building up your own assets. And so Jesus warns us that likewise, we won’t find a Heavenly security for ourselves if we’re too busy securing a place for ourselves on earth. It just doesn’t work like that!

Prayer: Abba Father, in our daily life, we are continuously tempted to seek the riches of the world and making it a priority within. Help us to seek first the Kingdom of God and store heavenly treasures which takes us closer to eternal life. Amen.