No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24
For the most part, the world runs on balanced agreements. Unless you are a man on the brink of starvation, you would more than likely never pay $500 for a loaf of bread. Likewise, unless someone was extremely wealthy, they would never sell a mansion for $500, either. Even if either one or both aforementioned deals were to take place, it would be considered very lopsided, even ludicrous. At the end of the day, to reach an agreement, most people expect an even exchange.
Yet, somehow many Christians don’t seem to offer God an even agreement. They want to have as much of the world as they can and have God at the same time. They want to watch the world’s movies, listen to the world’s music, drink the world’s booze, live it up in the world’s entertainment, enjoy the world’s television, sneak around in the filth of the world’s internet, curse like the world, talk like the world, act like the world, dress like the world, and just generally fit in with the world however they can; but they expect God to bless them and their family. As long as, every once in a while, they give a “shout out” to Jesus on social media and go to church every few weeks, why shouldn’t God bless them?
Put yourself in the position of God for a second. Would you call it a fair agreement if you were God and looking at a life like yours? If you were God and you saw a person living exactly like you, would you consider it fair to bless you? If they were being completely honest, a lot of Christians would have to admit that they were trying to pass God a lopsided deal, to say the least.
The truth is, if you want God’s blessing, then you must do it on God’s terms. You must spend time in God’s Book, you must spend time around God’s people, you must fill your mind with God’s music, you must place yourself under the preaching of God’s Word, you must dress like God’s child, you must talk with God’s holiness, you must think God’s thoughts, and you must live for God’s glory; and all while shunning the world. Most Christians consider that too strict of an agreement because they are filled with too much of the world and not enough of God. If you want God’s blessing, then you must live a life that is pleasing to God.
After all, wouldn’t you agree that that is only fair?
Read also: Matthew 6:19-24
Quote of the day: “Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” – Oswald Chambers