Where Loyalties Lie
“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 despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
Jesus searched our loves and our looks, but what of our loyalty? Loyalty isn’t a quality much discussed today, is it? A trend in corporate America is to slash the number of full-time employees in order to replace them with part-timers. Now, tell me: if this poor soul is working two part-time jobs and has a schedule conflict, how do they resolve it? Which job do they go to? Which clock do they punch? They serve at the job they love most. And herein lies the problem. The human heart was originally made as a full-time position, fully employed in loving and serving God. However, with the introduction of sin, we now are trying to work two part-time jobs, and our schedules conflict. How do we resolve this tension?
I can tell you from personal experience – do not expect full-time status in this lifetime. Paul speaks of this conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. (If you want a window into Paul’s personal struggles, read Romans 7:7-25.) In heaven, we will love God with an unsinning heart; however, we have not punched that clock yet (Phil. 3:12). The answer for today is simple – we will be most loyal to, we will serve most those whom we love most. Paul could not value all things as dung until we valued Christ as worthy (Phil. 3:8). The paradigm shift does not occur overnight, for Paul learned to be content as he learned more of Christ (Phil. 4:11-13). Or to use Peter’s language, Paul had to grow in the “grace and knowledge of Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
Now, can I give you some practical advice? If you want to love Christ more, you must find Christ more. Where do we find Christ? In His Word, in His worship, and among His people. If we want to serve Christ more than we serve our sin, we must love Christ more. Day by day, we will find ourselves more loyal, more obedient to heaven, longing for a promotion to full-time service there.
The fundamental question that I leave with you today is simple. The issue is not “Who do you serve?” but “who do you love?” Your love will showcase your loyalty.
