You can't serve two masters. "No one can serve two masters"
27. “You cannot serve two masters.”
Mat. 6:24: “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (wealth)."
Mat. 22:21 including: “Then he says to them, “Render therefore the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar, and the things that are God’s to God.”
In the Gospel of Matthew 6:24, Christ teaches us that we cannot serve both God and mammon at the same time, that is, wealth, which is “the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). In a figurative sense, this means that we cannot serve God and sin at the same time.
As for Mat. 22:21, then here Christ answers the question of the Pharisees: “Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not?” (v. 17). To this question, Christ answered that we must give what belongs to God to God. And what belongs to Caesar must be given to Caesar. In this way, we, as His creation, fulfill our duty to God, and, as citizens of the country, fulfill our civic duties to the state.
In Archimandrite Victor (Mamontov) - Sermons. You cannot serve two masters.
Today's Gospel of Matthew tells us about God's providence. God the Father, who created the whole world and man as the crown of His creation, continues to communicate with His creation. Those people who claim that God created this world and distanced himself from it are wrong. If it were not for God’s care, if some kind of violation occurred, life on earth would immediately cease. But the Lord preserves the physical world without disturbing its structure and order. Moreover, the Lord protects man.
In the future life, a person should be in close unity with God. For now we live a temporary life, but at the second coming of Jesus Christ, when the end of this world comes and all humanity appears at the Last Judgment, time will cease and Eternal Life will begin. Where they no longer grow old, where there is no passage of time, where they do not eat, do not drink, do not reproduce, do not dress, which is what so many people care about in this life.
Of course, a person needs material concerns. The body needs food: if it is not nourished, it will become exhausted and die. The body needs clothing: in winter it is cold, in summer it requires different clothes. A person needs water and other material benefits that the surrounding nature gives him. But when taking these benefits, a person sometimes acts unreasonably and unnaturally. It’s natural to eat, it’s unnatural to overeat, it’s natural to cover up your nakedness, it’s unnatural to love clothes, things and take a lot of care of them and spend a lot of time, to ruin your parents for the sake of fashion, for the sake of vanity, in order to show your lust to the corrupted world. It is natural for a person to take wine; the psalm says: “Wine makes you glad, bread strengthens you.” It's unnatural to get drunk. And now the disease of drunkenness has spread so much that it affects not only males, but also females. You can often see people on the street lying in ditches, who are no longer able to live in a family or work. They go to work once a week, and spend the money they receive on drink. They were so enslaved by the devil that alcohol became an idol for them.
The evil one deceives people, takes them into a world of worries and cares. A person deliberately engages in obtaining food, drink, clothing and says: “If I don’t do this, then who will do it for me?” When a person thinks like this, he completely forgets God. How can a baby who lives with his parents reason like this? It would be funny to hear such reasoning from the lips of an infant. He does not care about anything, he lives like a small bird in the family circle. He doesn’t know how much, how much money is in his mother’s wallet and how much he needs to spend on his life. The Lord says that we should learn to live the same way.
A person who lives only by his mind and does not believe in God says: “If I don’t work, if I sit with my hands folded, who will provide for me? Who will give me everything? The Lord does not call us to carelessness, laziness or parasitism. He wants us not to rely on ourselves and our own strengths. A believer always thinks modestly about the material wealth he has acquired and does not attribute what he has received to himself, because he knows that the Lord has given him the strength to obtain it.
We must have confidence that if today the Lord gives us what we need for life, tomorrow He will also give us, and it is unnecessary to worry about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Saint John Chrysostom said: “Is it wise to go to a source of water with water? Is it wise to go to a sumptuous feast with food?” Looking at such a person, they will think that he has lost his mind. And we must know that the treasury of the Lord never becomes scarce; everything useful for us is in it. We must strengthen our connection with God. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and inherit His gift, because we do not know that God is Love. Love is the key that opens the door to the Kingdom of Heaven for us.
Now people are striving to get rich. People see that material wealth is being depleted, so they want to seize it, keep it, accumulate it, in various ways, mostly dishonest. The workers have worked on their land and continue to work. They keep the natural rhythm of life. This rhythm is destroyed by those who have a predatory attitude towards life and earthly goods. They accumulate these benefits for the sake of a crazy life, for the sake of voluptuousness, for the sake of amusement, and the satisfaction of unnatural needs. Our life develops in such a way that some live a natural life, while others live an unnatural life. Those who live an unnatural life have come to love money so much that they put it first. Wealth has become an idol for them. The Lord says that you cannot serve two masters: “God and mammon.” We have only one master - the Lord. It's not about wealth, but about our attitude towards it. The Old Testament righteous man Abraham, the righteous Job and many others were very rich people, but wealth did not possess them. Amen.
Matthew chapter 6
1 Be careful that you do not do your alms in front of people so that they will see you: otherwise you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.2 So, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people may praise them. Truly I tell you, they are already receiving their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
7 And when you pray, do not talk too much, like the pagans, for they think that for their many words they will be heard;
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 Pray this way: Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name;
10 Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
11 Give us this day our daily bread;
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Also, when you fast, do not be sad, like the hypocrites, for they put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward.
17 And you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 That you may appear to those who fast, not before men, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal,
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The lamp of the body is the eye. So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be bright;
23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. So, if the light that is in you is darkness, then what is the darkness?
24 No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren't you much better than them?
27 And which of you, by worrying, can add even one cubit to his stature?
28 And why are you concerned about clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 But I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any of these;
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more than you, O you of little faith!
31 So do not be anxious and say, “What shall we eat?” or what to drink? or what to wear?
32 Because the Gentiles seek all these things, and because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things: each day’s own troubles are sufficient.
Fasting in Hebrew is called "tzom." Fasts exist in virtually all religions of the world and are religious prohibitions or restrictions on the consumption of certain foods or drinks. The religious and moral purpose of fasting is to achieve the victory of the spiritual and moral principle over the sensual, the spirit over the sinful and lustful flesh. That is, fasting represents such actions that help a person achieve the purification of his soul, help to elevate his spiritual nature above the physical, help to overcome his carnal desires and thoughts and subordinate the sinful bodily nature to the mind and the bright spiritual principle. With the help of fasting, a person cleanses himself spiritually and draws closer to God, since the correct fulfillment of fasting is always accompanied by prayer and repentance for one’s sins.
Modern Orthodox theology views fasting as one of the effective means of psychological influence on the spiritual nature of a person, contributing to the purification and renewal of the human soul. The ancient Jews used fasting very often during public disasters or some kind of danger. In Palestine, fasting was seen as a religious duty of believers, manifested in complete or partial abstinence from any or certain food and drink with the offering of prayers and sacrifices to God. “Then all the children of Israel and all the people went and came to the house of God and, sitting there, wept before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord” ().
Since ancient times, fasting has also been observed by private individuals before performing a particularly important task, when a person, with fasting and prayer, turned to God for help. For example, Moses fasted on Mount Sinai during the acceptance of the Laws of the Covenant from God. “And [Moses] stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, neither eating bread nor drinking water” (). The Lord Himself also fasted before embarking on the path of His public service. The ancient Jews also fasted when some misfortune happened to them, or when they learned some bad news. For example, King David fasted when he learned of the death of King Saul. “And they wept and wept and fasted until evening for Saul” ().
In ancient times, fasting was resorted to in all significant events of life. For example, the Ninevites fasted after the sermon of the prophet Jonah, which shocked them with its content. “And the Ninevites believed God, and declared a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” (). Fasting has been known and widely used since Old Testament times.
In Christianity, fasting arose with the advent of the first church, based on the example given to people by Jesus Christ Himself. “And having fasted forty days and forty nights, at last he became hungry” (). And also the example given to us by the Holy Apostles. “Then they, having fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, sent them away” (). “Having ordained them elders for each church, they prayed with fasting and gave them over to the Lord, in whom they believed” ().
According to the reports of the most ancient church writers, such as Hippolytus, Tertullian, Epiphanius, Augustine, Jerome, during the founding of the first Christian church, the first fast, established by the Apostles and lasting for forty days, was introduced into the Christian practice of worship. As an example for establishing the first fast in Christianity, the Apostles used an appeal to the fast of Moses (), Elijah “And he arose, ate and drank, and, refreshed with that food, walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God Horeb.” (), and Jesus Christ Himself (). Since those ancient times and to this day, there have been various fasts in Christianity that have their own classification, rituals and specific observance.
- No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
What are the two masters here, asks the Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt the Wonderworker, who cannot be served at the same time?
One is the Lord and God, the other is wealth or our sinful flesh. In which the devil operates, trying to chain her to the world.
Obviously, it is impossible for God and the sinful flesh to work together - precisely because God demands from us holiness, the unwavering and precise fulfillment of His will. And the flesh constantly incites us to sin - to gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, envy, enmity, covetousness and love of money, laziness, and so on.
How to reconcile serving God and the flesh? Obviously not! The Word of God directly says that those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). And they do not serve the sinful flesh, they do not please it.
“Do not please the flesh through lust” (Rom. 13:14), says the holy Apostle Paul. And it always happens that whoever pleases his flesh is negligent about pleasing God, about saving his soul. About your correction, about a virtuous life. He does not correct his heart, he does not strive in spirit towards the heavenly Fatherland, but he is all as if chained to the earth, to earthly pleasures.
He who loves his sinful flesh does not love God. To him His commandments seem heavy. He doesn't love his neighbor. He will not care about his salvation, because he does not care about his own.
He will not help in need because he loves himself too much. And he would rather fulfill his whims than give up his property for the needs of his neighbor.
“Therefore I tell you,” the Lord continues, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” Is not the soul more than food, and the body than clothing?
Inappropriate, unreasonable, too much concern for food, drink, and clothing is very harmful to Christian life. This is what the Lord previously called serving mammon.
This wrong concern of ours about food, drink and clothing turns our whole life upside down. Instead of caring mainly about the soul, about its cleansing, correction, sanctification - in general about salvation, we worry every day about what to wear and about pleasing our greedy belly.
And the soul is an immortal being created in the image and likeness of God, perishing alive in sins, we leave it neglected, without correction. Or we even add sins to sins every day. We saturate and satiate the body, but leave the soul to starve. We decorate the body, but disgrace the soul. We revive the body, but kill the soul.
