You Cannot Serve Two Masters

I watched TD Jakes sermons last night as I forcefully wiped my eyes.

It was another day I found myself on the couch with a tear soaked blanket, desperately holding on to what was left of my sanity; of my hope; of my faith.

I needed a divine word and this was just the man to give it. I listened intently, ready to chew up the meat and spit out the bones. Only it was all meat - and it all resonated with me. 

TD said something that stuck with me so heavily, I couldn't do a thing but drop to my knees and confess my own guilt. 

"You weren't obedient to God. You were obedient to the idolatry of what you had in mind."

Whoa! Say wha' now, Bishop?! 

"You didn't worship God, you worshipped what you had in mind. You didn't serve God, you wanted God to serve you," he continued. 

How many times have you excitedly served God because you liked the purpose He showed you? The vision excited you, so you unhesitatingly provided sacrifices and decided to live in a more Godly manner. You wanted what He showed you, so you listened. You were obedient to what you wanted, not the God who was providing it. 

You didn't care much to establish a firm relationship with God, nor were you as concerned with being righteous as you were focused on getting that amazing thing/love/purpose He showed you. You didn't want God, you wanted that thing. 

We get so lost in the idea of what we have in mind, based on what God has shown us, that we begin worshipping the vision instead of the God. We forget to serve Christ with pure hearts, and start to serve Christ so He can serve us. We become arrogant and proud for the gift, instead of the giver. 

It's not the gift that deserves the glory, but the giver. It's not the purpose that deserves praising, it's the provider.

We forget that in order to get the gift we have to obey the giver. We have to listen and receive the giver and His plan. We ignore the fact that this grand purpose - the one we loved so much we put it first and God second; the one that somehow became our master - is attached to His plan. We forget that this plan won't be a short pathway through a bed of roses, but a journey. It'll be daunting, and hard and sometimes emotionally draining. We want so much, to skip the plan and get straight to the purpose. We love it so much, that we don't care a thing about serving God through the journey, we just want to get our hands on the finished product. We want to skip the middle and get straight to the end. We grow weary when we realize the purpose won't be as easy to obtain as it seemed to be in the vision. We even have the nerve to get upset when He makes us take the scenic route when we begin to worship the created instead of The Creator. We don't want to serve God - we don't want to fight temptation, be comforted through our mourning, be strengthened through our adversity, be purified and fixed up, nor be persecuted for our righteousness - we just want that purpose He showed us. We just want to be served what was promised. 

Are you sacrificing for God only when it's for a vision you like? 

Do you pray to God only for the purpose you hope to come true? 

Are you obedient to God, only so you can reap the benefits of what He's shown you? 

Do you want the purpose to fall in your lap, without enduring trials along the way?

True servitude is about trusting God through all things - even when the plan doesn't seem to be going as you planned. It's enduring when God's bright purpose seems halted by trouble. It's walking in the dark and following God's voice when you can't seem to find a flashlight. Servitude is about being the servant, not being served. 

You cannot serve what you want and serve God at the same time. "...he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). You will not have His will bestowed upon your life by doing what you want to do. You cannot desire His purpose and deny His plan. 

When you serve God, you must serve God - not the plan you want to see happen or the worldly person you think can help you get that plan. When you're a servant, you can't expect to be served. It's not about you or your desires, it's about God. 

It's time to place the giver on a higher plateau than you've been placing the gift. It's time to praise the provider harder than you praise what's provided. It's time to begin serving God, and God alone. 

"Seek ye first the kingdom of righteousness, and all things will be added unto you."