Loyalty and Priority

“No man can serve two masters . . you cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV

“Priorities are governed by a hierarchy of your loyalties.”

My thoughts today are about “loyalty and priority.”

Life ultimately is the sum total of all the big and little choices that you make along the way. Or sometimes as the case may be, the choices that are made by default – your failing to choose at all. Life goes on, ready or not! You don’t have to choose to fail; you just have to fail to choose. The result will be the same for either.

For instance, consider success and failure. There is not as large a distance between those as you might at first think. You don’t have to choose to fail, you may simply fail to choose to succeed, and therefore not make the investment of your time and effort necessary for your success. Success at anything demands priority. A mind not fully settled on one thing is usually not clear about much of anything.

Where do your loyalties lay? I am not sure that most people give much thought about loyalty, until a situation forces them to decide. Relationships are very much the product of loyalty. They don’t go very far or last very long without it. Your spiritual life is like that. Spiritual life and growth are based on clear loyalty and its subsequent priority. Priorities are governed by a hierarchy of your loyalties – who and what comes first for you. Who or what you consider important gets priority. My Dad taught me both of those things – priorities and loyalty – both by his words and personal example.

Just as I was writing this, I took a phone call when in the midst of it the other person said, “Can I call you right back? My boss is on the other line.” I fully understood; that was recognition of appropriate loyalty and priority. I think that is what Jesus was talking about in today’s verse. “No man can serve two masters . . you cannot serve God and money.”

Out of all the matters you must settle is this tension between the spiritual and the material. Life requires it be lived within the sphere of both the spiritual and material. Ignoring one or the other is not possible. Clearly choosing to prefer one or the other is absolutely essential. Jesus was not suggesting that you could live successfully by disregarding or disdaining the material. Money is the currency of everyday life; there is not much life without having enough of it.

But wasn’t Jesus talking about much more than how much money you have? Yes, He was. He used moneymammon is the quaint word in older translations that included money and much, much more – to convey the sense of anything material that you are trusting to provide your sense of security and significance apart from God. Read Mark 8:36-37 NIV/Matthew 6:19-21 NLT.

To me, Jesus’ concern seems to be about the danger of the material world so dominating one’s attention, decimating one’s relationships, and thereby deceiving one’s heart about what is of prior importance and enduring value. Ever wonder why “In God we trust,” was placed on every piece of our currency? I think I need the constant reminder that the material, though not unimportant cannot become of first importance. God alone fits that place best; He is Source and Supply.

My prayer for you is that you keep your loyalty clean and your priority clear.