The Bible is many things. Many people think of the Bible as one (very long and mostly tedious) book. Actually, It is a collection of sixty-six (or if you are a Catholic) seventy-three books and letters written by at least thirty-five authors over a period of roughly fifteen hundred years. It contains many different types of literature including laws, histories, biographies, prophecies, poetry, and the type I want to consider today, which is wisdom literature.
The genre Wisdom literature is defined, for our purposes, as a collection “of aphorisms (or sayings) that teach the meaning of life and how to live it.” Biblical Wisdom teaches that with a somewhat more particular slant on the nature of God and life and how to live it with Him in an understanding manner. The books of wisdom literature included in the Bible are the books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, but there are threads and nuggets of wisdom found throughout the Scriptures, and today we will be looking at one of these nuggets found in Matthew 6:24-33 but specifically the verses in that passage that read
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and neglect the other. Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on… But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Here is where a gospel becomes biblical wisdom (remember biblical wisdom reveals the nature of God and how to live with Him in an understanding way). First we are given a simple declaration, “no one can serve, or satisfy two masters, because by nature we will prefer one over the other, so at best the needs of one will be met and the needs of the other will be left wanting. At worst, neither will be satisfied.
So how does this apply to me or you?
There is a gentleman that, after having known him for years, I can say with confidence that he knows Jesus, and has faith in Jesus though it is somewhat stalled out by several life controlling habits that he is having a difficult time overcoming. He is a perfect example of a person trying to serve two masters and finding himself unable to do well by either. On the days where he loves Jesus the best, he is overcome with guilt and self-loathing because he is too weak to put down the drugs and tobacco, and on the days when he loves the drugs the best he despises himself for spending so much time and money doing something he knows is bad for him.
My friend is far from being alone in his struggle. Matthew goes on to name the competitors in our struggle as our own desires and God, and regardless of how strong we are in our faith, we still war with our own fears, likes, dislikes and desires taking precedence of God and His desires for us. And I would love to tell you that the struggle gets easier with time and age, but it would be a lie. The only thing I can say is sitting on the fence is never comfortable for very long, and my advice is to try God’s will, God’s way and see how it works for you.
” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.”
I remember one time, it must be thirty years ago or more, I was teaching a Bible study and I asked the question “How are God’s ways different from man’s ways?” and there was an elderly lady in the congregation, very shy, who hardly ever spoke in church who piped up and said, “God’s ways work!”. After I was able to close my very surprised mouth, I laughed and with pretty much everyone else in the room shouted “Amen!” that just summed it up perfectly.
Try God’s way for a month. For thirty days put God’s desires before your own. Trust all the way in His abilities instead of yours. Wait on Him instead of doing your own thing and hoping for immediate gratification. Thirty days. I’m not saying that thirty days is the biblical prescription, because it’s not. I’m just saying that if you will give God thirty days of your undivided devotion, I believe that God will prove Himself worthy of it, and the other things you seek, you will find along the way.
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