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You Cannot Serve Two Masters

Deidre

Well-Known Member
In Scripture, we read these words and accept them as Truth. In your best layman lingo, please share how you decipher this and how we can apply it to life on the daily.
 

robocop (actually)

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I thought it was God and money. The two greatest commandments, according to Jesus, are to love your God with all your heart, mind, mind and strength and then to love your neighbor as yourself.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
In Scripture, we read these words and accept them as Truth. In your best layman lingo, please share how you decipher this and how we can apply it to life on the daily.
Could you give a scripture reference?
 

Deidre

Well-Known Member
So, what I meant in my OP is what are these two masters? Money is commonly mentioned but what other “masters” might distract us from our relationship with God?
 

eik

Active Member
So, what I meant in my OP is what are these two masters? Money is commonly mentioned but what other “masters” might distract us from our relationship with God?
Pleasure is another satanic master. It is seen in the parable of the prodigal son, and also the admonition against being a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God in 2Ti 3:4. In this day and age, pleasure is a very powerful distraction, for not only are there the guilty pleasures, but many innocent pleasures do serve as a distraction, such as watching TV (if that is innocent which it may not be for a lot of the time).
 

Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
In Scripture, we read these words and accept them as Truth. In your best layman lingo, please share how you decipher this and how we can apply it to life on the daily.
Sorry I missed this thread.....
The scripture says in full....(Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13)
"No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God and for Riches."

This is not a popular topic with many people because it forces them to confront their own materialism. How much is enough? How much is too much? What is the balanced Christian view?
According to the so called "prosperity gospel" advocates, riches are a sign of God's blessing....but is that true?

Proverbs 30:8-9 gives us the balance....

"Remove untruth and lies far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches.

Just let me consume my portion of food,
9 So that I do not become satisfied and deny you and say, “Who is Jehovah?”


Nor let me become poor and steal and dishonor the name of my God."

So neither poverty nor riches is the optimal standard....both have their traps.

People today in affluent countries have become virtual slaves to consumerism.....so many people will "slave" for the wrong Master, devoting much time and energy to making money so that they can spend it on luxuries rather than on necessities. This means less quality time spent with family....what is the point in having children and giving them the latest "toys" if they never see you?

The imbalance between the 'have's' and the 'have not's' is becoming wider by the day.....and this current pandemic has turned the world upside down. The 'have not's' are growing exponentially as we see tent cities everywhere and now that many cannot pay rent or have lost their jobs and their health insurance, what does that mean for the spread of this virus.....have humans created their own petri dish?...and will this mean the death of many who simply have no funds to survive life, let alone a devastatingly contagious virus...?

We can substitute anything that takes our time and attention away from the more important things of life....those important "things" aren't things...they are the people in our lives that mean the most to us....and for Christians, it means also giving due time and attention to living a Christian life...focusing on spiritual pursuits rather than material ones.....keeping mindful of what God sees in us.

That is how I see it....
 

Ben Dhyan

Veteran Member
In Scripture, we read these words and accept them as Truth. In your best layman lingo, please share how you decipher this and how we can apply it to life on the daily.
It means that if you serve wealth and prosperity first, and God second, then you lose the opportunity for salvation in this life. It does not mean that having wealth and prosperity will doom your chances of salvation, it is what is first in your life that determines that.
 

Terrywoodenpic

Oldest Heretic
Not sure there is any need to serve a master at all.
Better to make decisions based on the merit of the situation.
There is no problem in following a religion and science.
as long as you can discern what falls under which heading.

In reality we are quite good at finding a path through a life where we have many masters.
From our teachers bosses, governments. parents. church leaders, and our own beliefs. and those of our friends.

Moral values derive from all these thing and are a meld of many factors. it is perhaps foolish to believe that we share all these values with everyone else. we do not. It is very much a pick and mix system, with some choices more in common than others. depending on where you live and your personal upbringing and situation.

A lot of the social problems come from supposing that every one is dancing to the same tune, when in fact they are not.
Morals like other beliefs are not universal.
 

Ben Dhyan

Veteran Member
I consider that the more one spends time in serious religious devotional practice, the more our understanding of science and the nature of this world is enhanced. If I understand correctly, our thinking mind is an expression of God as in Soul, our thinking mind therefore will grow in proportion to the increased participation of God in our life.

I guess the question arises, if our thinking mind is an expression of God, what is the best religious practice to develop a closer relationship with God?
 

Terrywoodenpic

Oldest Heretic
I consider that the more one spends time in serious religious devotional practice, the more our understanding of science and the nature of this world is enhanced. If I understand correctly, our thinking mind is an expression of God as in Soul, our thinking mind therefore will grow in proportion to the increased participation of God in our life.

I guess the question arises, if our thinking mind is an expression of God, what is the best religious practice to develop a closer relationship with God?

Why should there be just one best religion that is perfect for everyone.?
Trying to fit every sort of shape into a square hole would be pointless.
The infinity that is God is more than large enough to have a perfect fit for everyone.
Differences are not a problem they make for strength.
 

Ben Dhyan

Veteran Member
Why should there be just one best religion that is perfect for everyone.?
Trying to fit every sort of shape into a square hole would be pointless.
The infinity that is God is more than large enough to have a perfect fit for everyone.
Differences are not a problem they make for strength.
Well said.
 
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