Remember our wannabe quarterback from yesterday? Nathan refused to choose a team because he wanted to be on the winning one and he lacked the confidence in either team to place his loyalty with it. Which brings us to a logical conclusion about Nathan: he had no loyalty. Loyalty is faithfulness; stick-with-it-ness. Loyalty means hanging with the One you believe and trust in.
As we’ve looked at many times, money is nothing but a tool. Would you place your loyalty with a hammer? Of course not! It’s an inanimate object, capable of absolutely nothing beyond the ability of its operator. Just like money.
Let’s take another look at yesterday’s passage: “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Jesus speaking, Matthew 6:24, NLT).
During the Civil War, or War Between the States, the people of America had to choose sides. Some placed their loyalty with the Confederacy while others placed theirs with the Union. In the end, the Confederacy was defeated by the Union, immediately making Confederate money worthless. Even the wealthiest of the wealthy who’d put their trust in the Confederate dollar found themselves penniless.
When Christ comes for His Bride, the church – which is each and every individual who has put his trust in Him – the stuff of this ol’ world is gonna be worthless to those on that righteous winning team. But note: He’s not coming for those who “sort of” trust Him. And He’s not coming for those who “kind of” want to serve Him. He’s coming for those who have wholeheartedly surrendered their lives to Him – those who have given Him their loyalty.
Being faithful isn’t always easy. Sometimes temptations or problems make it tough to stay on the right pathway. But that’s no new problem. The psalmist David wrote: “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your Name” (Psalm 86:11).
“Give me an undivided heart.” Have you ever prayed for “an undivided heart?” So many things in this world try to pull our minds and hearts in the wrong direction. Prayer changes things, including our focus.
Look at how David continues his psalm: “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your Name forever” (Psalm 86:12).
David knew he couldn’t praise the Lord “with all [his] heart” unless “all [his] heart” was committed to the Father. And guess what? Neither can I. Or you. Ask daily for the Lord to “give [you] an undivided heart.”
“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.” (Zig Ziglar)
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture is from the New International Version (NIV).
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