Who or what really guides your life?
No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Who or what really guides your life? Jesus says we can’t serve two masters. But most of us work hard to prove him wrong. In the end, we need to choose each day to serve God most of all, seeking first God’s kingdom and justice in all things.
I can’t read this verse in Luke without hearing the voice of Bob Dylan echoing in my ears. In his 1979 album Slow Train Coming, Dylan sang “Gotta Serve Somebody.” The first verse and refrain went like this: “You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed; You’re gonna have to serve somebody; Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord; But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” As the song continued, Dylan mentioned a wide range of people from all walks of life, but always coming back to the main theme, “[Whoever you are,] You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
I expect Jesus would approve of these lyrics. I think he’d add something, however. Not only do we have to serve somebody, but also we can only really serve one somebody at a time. As Jesus puts it in Luke 16:13, “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” So, no matter who you are, no matter what you do with your life, you’re gonna have to serve somebody, and you’ll need to choose whom or what to serve.
As I reflect on my own life, I can honestly say that I seek to serve Jesus as my Lord, to want to honor him with words and actions. I’m eager to live under his reign and work to extend his kingdom in the world. To the extent that what I’ve just said is true, I give glory to God for the grace that has made this very egocentric person a little less self-centered and a little more God-centered.
Yet, honestly, I’m also aware of the extent to which I am still trying to serve two masters (or even more!). I suppose that I do serve wealth in that I like nice things and worry about my financial well-being. But I find it more tempting to want to serve other masters, like influence or reputation or affirmation. As an Enneagram 3, I am an achiever who seeks to be affirmed through what I produce. If I do good work and you like it, and if you like me in the process, then I’m a happy man.
It’s certainly not wrong to be productive. Nor is it wrong to enjoy it when people like you. Yet, when being productive for the sake of affirmation becomes the dominant motivation in life, then this is a problem. For me, I can serve this master even as I truly seek to serve the Lord. But, Jesus says, this cease-fire won’t hold. In the end, I need to choose who or what will be the Lord of my life.
And so do you. If you’re like me and most Christians I know, choosing to serve the Lord isn’t something you do once and then perfectly act out for the rest of your life. Rather, serving the Lord is a matter of choosing God each day, each hour, even each moment. It certainly helps if we start the day by offering ourselves fully to God. In my morning devotions, I regularly use a prayer of St. Ignatius, thinking about the day ahead as I pray. Perhaps you’ll find this prayer helpful as well. “Grant, Lord, that all my intentions, actions, and operations be directed purely to your praise and your service. Amen.”
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