Armageddun wrote:
GOD ALONE
"You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24
"The golden age only comes to men when they have forgotten gold."
---G.K.Chesterton...
We may consider ourselves way beyond materialism. "Jesus doesn't mean that wealth is bad, He only means that we cannot be attached to it." This is the mantra that Christians often quote when confronted with verses about materialism. But in so quoting, we often betray the fact that we are attached. We will so quickly offer caveats to Jesus' statements about money that we demonstrate ourselves suspiciously wedded to our materialism. The more we deny His judgements against things, "the more we show ourselves to be possessed by them." Jesus isn't really asking the rich young ruler to sell all of his possessions, He is only pinpointing the young man's idols, "we say hastily. "Jesus doesn't mean that we can't lay up treasures on earth, He just means that shouldn't be our priority." We are exactly right in these interpretations. But our vigorous defense of them is suspicious.
Our understanding of this verse really should go in the other direction. Instead of apologetics for Jesus' severity toward money, we must apply His judgement to even other areas. "You cannot serve both God and ______." He might as well let us fill in the blank ourselves, and He indicates as much in the first part of this verse. Having two masters is always an inappropriate situation. It leads to double-mindedness and neglect of at least one, if not both.
Does Jesus contend with any rivals in our lives? Do we have any "gods" before Him? We may not know the answer to this until He asks us to give me up. Like the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23), we often don't know our idols until they are threatened. Try this exercise: Let someone fill in the blank above with every rival he or she can think of and then measure the defensiveness of your reaction. This may show where God wants to work in your life.
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“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.” Mark 11:25, AMP
Ever been wronged? Ever felt judged? Ever been hurt by someone you trusted? Ever felt you had a right to be angry and unforgiving to someone? Well join the club, but what does God say about it? He says, let it drop, leave it, and let it go. Now that’s some great advice.
Don’t you love it when God says, let me set the ground rules for who deserves our forgiveness? He says, “if you have anything against anyone.” Well I guess that pretty much covers every situation and every person that we may have an issue with.
So here are a few thoughts on why we should be forgiving to people who do us wrong:
(1) Hurting people, hurt people. I heard Dr. John Maxwell say something along those lines 20 years ago, and it’s just as true today. So, when someone hurts you, you can be confident that they are in worse shape than you.
(2) We live in a fallen world where people are so into themselves that they will often say and do things without having a clue that it could possibly hurt your feelings. So just accept it, and call it good.
(3) Not everyone likes you anyway, so just get over it.
(4) Finally, we are not designed to carry hurts. That’s why Jesus went to the cross for us. He took our pains upon Himself on Calvary, so enjoy the freedom and grace that comes from walking that out. It makes no sense to carry a burden that Jesus has already carried for us.
So, be quick to forgive, forget, and move on. Just let it drop and let it go, and do it today.
Prayer: "Father, I forgive those that have done me wrong. I choose to let it drop and let it go. I’m taking the high road, and refuse to be taken into the ditch of unforgiveness. I won’t allow myself to be sidetracked. I thank You for forgiving me, so therefore I will forgive others. In Jesus' Name. Amen."