Serving Two Masters
Serving Two Masters
By
Gary Primo
December 28, 2013
This study is based on the following verse:
Luke 16:13 - No servant 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.
Many might not know the meaning of the word “mammon”. Easton’s Bible Dictionary gives the following definition:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
· Mammon
Mammon [N] [H] [S] a Chaldee or Syriac word meaning "wealth" or "riches" ( Luke 16:9-11 ); also, by personification,
Dictionaries - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Mammon
Perhaps this definition is made clearer by the preceding parable.
Luke 16:1 - And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 - And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou may be no longer steward.
3 - Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 - I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 - So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 - And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 - Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 - And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 - And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 - He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 - If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 - And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
What does all of this mean?
Let’s take a look at what some of the Bible commentaries say:
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
1. steward--manager of his estate.
accused--informed upon.
had wasted--rather, "was wasting."
3. cannot dig . . . to beg, ashamed--therefore, when dismissed, shall be in utter want.
4. may receive me, &c.--Observe his one object--when cast out of one home to secure another.This is the key to the parable, on which there have been many differing views.
5-7. fifty . . . fourscore--deducting a half from the debt of the one, and a fifth from that of the other.
8. the lord--evidently the steward's lord, so called in Luke 16:3 Luke 16:5 .
commended, &c.--not for his "injustice," but "because he had done wisely," or prudently; with commendable foresight and skilful adaptation of means to end.
children of this world--so Luke 20:34 ; compare Psalms 17:14 ("their portion in this life");Philippians 3:19 ("mind earthly things"); Psalms 4:6 Psalms 4:7 .
their generation--or "for their generation"--that is, for the purposes of the "world" they are "of." The greater wisdom (or shrewdness) of the one, in adaptation of means to ends, and in energetic, determined prosecution of them, is none of it for God and eternity--a region they were never in, an atmosphere they never breathed, an undiscovered world, an unborn existence to them--but all for the purposes of their own grovelling and fleeting generation.
children of light--(so John 12:36 , Ephesians 5:8 , 1 Thessalonians 5:5 ). Yet this is only "as night-birds see better in the dark than those of the day owls than eagles" [CAJETAN and TRENCH]. But we may learn lessons from them, as our Lord now shows, and "be wise asserpents."
9. Make . . . friends of--Turn to your advantage; that is, as the steward did, "by showing mercy to the poor" ( Daniel 4:27 ; compare Luke 12:33 , Luke 14:13 Luke 14:14 ).
mammon of unrighteousness--treacherous, precarious.
ye fail--in respect of life.
they may receive you--not generally, "ye may be received" (as Luke 6:38 , "shall men give"), but "those ye have relieved may rise up as witnesses for you" at the great day. Then, like the steward, when turned out of one home shall ye secure another; but better than he, a heavenly for an earthly, an everlasting for a temporary habitation. Money is not here made the key to heaven, more than "the deeds done in the body" in general, according to which, as a test of character--but not by the merit of which--men are to be judged ( 2 Corinthians 5:10 , and see Matthew 25:34-40 ).
10. He, &c.--a maxim of great pregnancy and value; rising from the prudence which the steward had to the fidelity which he had not, the "harmlessness of the dove, to which the serpent" with all his "wisdom" is a total stranger. Fidelity depends not on the amount entrusted, but on the sense of responsibility. He that feels this in little will feel it in much, and conversely.
11, 12. unrighteous mammon--To the whole of this He applies the disparaging term "what is least," in contrast with "the true riches."
12. another man's . . . your own--an important turn to the subject. Here all we have is on trust as stewards, who have an account to render. Hereafter, what the faithful have will be their own property, being no longer on probation, but in secure, undisturbed, rightful, everlasting possession and enjoyment of all that is graciously bestowed on us. Thus money is neither to be idolized nordespised: we must sit loose to it and use it for God's glory.
13. can serve--be entirely at the command of; and this is true even where the services are not opposed.
hate . . . love--showing that the two here intended are in uncompromising hostility to each other: an awfully searching principle!
Geneva Study Bible
16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, 1 There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
(1) Seeing that men often purchase friendship for themselves at the expense of others, we are to be ashamed if we do not please the Lord or procure the good will of our neighbours with the goods which the Lord has bestowed on us freely and liberally, making sure that by this means riches, which are often occasions of sin, are used for another end and purpose.
16:8 And the lord commended a the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the bchildren of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
(a) This parable does not approve the stewards evil dealing, for it was definitely theft: but parables are set forth to show a thing in a secret way, and as it were, to present the truth by means of an allegory, even though it may not be exact: so that by this parable Christ means to teach us that worldly men are more clever in the affairs of this world than the children of God are diligent for everlasting life.
(b) Men that are given to this present life, contrary to whom are the children of light: Paul calls the former carnal and the latter spiritual.
16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon c of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting d habitations.
(c) This is not spoken of goods that are gotten wrongly, for God will have our bountifulness to the poor proceed and come from a good fountain: but he calls those things riches of iniquity which men use wickedly.
(d) That is, the poor Christians: for they are the inheritors of these habitations; Theophylact.
16:10 2 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
(2) We ought to take heed that we do not abuse our earthly work and duty and so be deprived of heavenly gifts: for how can they properly use spiritual gifts who abuse worldly things?
16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the c true [riches]?
(c) That is, heavenly and true riches, which are contrary to material wealth which is worldly and quickly departing.
16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is f another mans, who shall give you that which is your own?
(f) In worldly goods, which are called other mens because they are not ours, but rather entrusted to our care.
16:13 3 No servant 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.
(3) No man can love God and riches simultaneously.
What put me in mind of this study was a regular news letter I received from a group calling themselves “Messianic Bible”. In this particular news letter they put forth the concept that it was ok for Messianics to share the joy of the Christmas season with the Christians that kept the feast. The implication was that it was one and the same spirit with which the Messianics enjoyed Yahuwah’s festivals. That all was to the glory of Yahuwah.
I totally disagreed.
Yahuwah does not compromise. There are no shades of grey when it comes to Yahuwah’s word. Everything is black and white only. This is where the Laodicean church of Revelation 3 got into trouble. They were luke warm – trying to serve two masters.
The problem was not with worldly riches or the pursuit of worldly riches, but the attitude with which we seek them. Some seek riches out of personal greed and will do anything (no matter how unscrupulous) to gain it. The fact is that we cannot separate the worldly from the Way of Yahuwah. In other words, we can cannot behave deceitfully with the world and not expect it to have an adverse effect on our spiritual conditions.
I know from personal experience in my former church (WCG) that whatever spiritual condition they were in went right to the heads of some. That is because they were constantly comparing themselves (measuring themselves) against other men, rather than the Messiah. They became proud and haughty – looking down on ones they valued as “beneath” them. This is not what being a beacon to the world is all about.
When we compare ourselves to Yahushua, we all fall far short of the mark expected of us. Yahushua was often criticized for fellowshipping with sinners. His reply was that it was the sinners that were in need of a doctor. Yahushua considered himself a doctor – a healer of the soul first and foremost. The physical healings only benefited the person until the time of their physical death. Spiritual healing supersedes physical death and; therefore, is of the greatest value to us.
The same goes for worldly riches. It is nice to have, but its worth also ends in physical death. We will be starting off in the new creation, exactly as we did with the first – as newborn babes, with only one possession – eternal life. This is the greatest treasure of all. Seeking it is our ultimate goal.
One of the first commandments Yahuwah gave to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. Yahuwah had just created the perfect image of Himself. His purpose was to create a family of like beings to himself. Like Yahuwah, we also desire a family and so we marry and have children who are mirror images of us. Yahuwah’s commandment applies spiritually as well. Our spiritual gain lies in how many we can turn towards the light of Yahuwah via our worldly dealings.
With Adam’s sin, that looking glass was shattered and replaced by another image; that of the adversary, HaSatan. A dark spirit engulfed the earth and the light of Yahuwah was removed from our sight – until the appearance of Yahushua. That was the first time that mankind clearly saw the Father, because Yahushua was His mirror image. Those who believe in and follow after the son have the love of the glorious light of the Father ever beckoning to them, to illuminate the path to follow to eternal life.
To some extent we do have to shut out the ways of this world. However, we are also commanded to remain in the world. Why? So that we may be lights, reflecting Yahuwah’s light, so that we may reveal Yahuwah to them. They should see Yahuwah for the first time through us, the way the world saw Him through Yahushua. Keeping that light shut up within our own little groups is like hiding it under a bushel. For that light to truly shine, we must allow those in need of doctors to see it. Like Yahushua, we are doctors of the soul also.
That being the case, I believe that we are expected to treat everyone in the world exactly as we would treat a fellow Believer. This is especially true when it comes to financial dealings. Yahuwah does not bless us for our gain alone. We are expected to be wise and fruitful stewards using our blessings for the good of all mankind; in leading them to that glorious light.
What the steward in these passages did, was forgive a percentage of the loans he had out. This show of forgiveness saved his bacon. In doing so he demonstrated the love of Yahuwah and his light shone before these indebted to him.
The Scriptures are filled with examples of how to be good stewards in our financial dealings. When followed, the result is often pretty spectacular. Yet if our attitude is self directed, we may lose out on the greatest reward of all – eternal life.
A good example can be found in certain ministries (like the former WCG) where the leaders spent a great deal of the tithes they collected on expensive clothes and cars, personal grooming and mansions. Granted, they did spend a great amount promoting the “work” also. However, instead of the church property being registered in the church’s name, it was registered in the chief pastor’s name. Therefore, when those properties were sold, the profit went to the man, not the church. This was an example of worldly greed, not spiritual love.
I have trouble feeling sorry for such individuals. I feel they were frauds and charlatans right from the beginning – wolves in sheep’s clothing – serving themselves instead of Yahuwah; all the while they are promoting themselves as the “only true church” and servants of “God” on the earth. The “god” of this earth is presently HaSatan; and that is indeed who they serve.
I will readily admit that I have not yet perfected the skills of good stewardship in my own life. As I have often mentioned, my writings are always written for my own benefit and the strengthening my own relationship with the Father. Often I feel I am the worst hypocrite going. I feel like Shaul knowing what it is that I must do, but allowing myself to be pulled in the opposite direction at times. I don’t even realize that I have behaved unrighteously until I think about it afterward. I always wish I had thought about it before, rather than afterward. I definitely was not allowing the love of Yahuwah guide my thoughts and actions.
I am sure that everyone reading this will have their own memories of events they could have handled better and perhaps is embarrassed or ashamed about. Do not allow those feeling to cause you concern or despair. Yahuwah’s love leaves plenty of room for forgiveness. The best think we can do is realize what we did was wrong, admit it before Yahuwah and ask for forgiveness. From that point on, we should be mindful not to repeat the same mistake.
Being a faithful steward is more about spiritual gains than physical. We are in a growth process that ends with the reward of eternal life. We have been given a spirit (comforter) to help and guide us into that glorious light and grow into the perfect image of Yahuwah. We are to be ambassadors of Yahuwah, representing Him before all the earth. If we are not faithful stewards with these small things, how can we expect Yahuwah to trust that we will be faithful with what awaits those who graduate to the new creation?
The steward in this parable realized what it was he was on the verge of losing out on. He repented of his actions and even though he did not have the money to pay back all of what he had stolen, rather than running around demanding full payment from others, he forgave part of their debt. It was his attitude that found favour with his master. It will also be our attitude that finds favour with Yahuwah. In spiritual matters, attitude is everything.
Once again, there are plenty of examples and good instruction in becoming good stewards in the Scriptures. The blessings of good stewardship should be both spiritual and physical. If we take care of the spiritual first, the physical should follow naturally.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.