Choosing Between Two Masters

This is Part 3 of Legacy Builders and the final part of the mini-series. We do have a choice whom to serve and what to love (or lust after) as we are beings with independent minds and the abilities to make our own decisions regardless of credit or detriment. However, our legacies stemming from those choices are what we are remembered for many years later.

We are people with a choice:  Whom shall we worship as God? The Lord? Our wallets? Our political party’s leaders, talking points, and their opinions? The pursuit of the opposite (or same, in some cases) sex and the potential heated moments of passion?

In November, most of us will be confronted with a choice for our next President of the United States. Choose the man who has spent his public life building a brand and promoting the wiles of mammon, or select the woman who was thrust into the limelight first as my home state’s First Lady before becoming the nation’s First Lady, U.S. Senator, and most recently Secretary of State. Of course, other candidates do exist on the ballot, but we generally follow the two major political parties agreeing in principle with one group a little more than the other. While we may be bombarded with calls about their records, integrity, and concerns with how the nation could be shaped through diversifying laws and/or a potential remake of the Supreme Court in either a more conservative or liberal direction, we still have the luxury of choice.

Not everyone has the privilege to choose – see prisoners, children on punishment, and the disenfranchised.

Elijah gave his people a similar ultimatum:  Choose the God of Ahab and be blessed, or follow Baal whom his wife Jezebel introduced to the Israelites upon their marriage. Ahab set up an altar and a temple to Baal giving cause to God’s arousal of anger in a manner unseen since the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. Moreover, Jezebel started killing off the Lord’s prophets and this led to God appointing Elijah to stop all of this foolishness.

It seemed like a common problem we have in society today:  We want it both ways even if one is to the detriment of our legacies and reputations. For example, we sometimes change our dependents on our payroll taxes to get a bigger paycheck because we think the government mismanages our money hence the pursuit of “life, liberty, and lower taxes” to keep more of our hard-earned money. Some were caught up in the Ashley Madison scandal thinking that they could have an extramarital affair and get away with it until that website was hacked; what do we make of the prominent names that were revealed?

How long can we waver between two opinions or two diametrically opposed ideas before God declares, “Enough already!”

My name is the Lord! I won't let idols or humans share my glory and praise.
Isaiah 42:8

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) August 20, 2016

This is the reason why God is such a jealous God. He is the only true living God – when was the last time we saw dollar bills or Buddha personified?

Elijah goes a step further in challenging the Israelites to see if Baal would answer them. The idol remained silent as God’s power came through as fire consumed the altar and the surrounding water proving that there is only one true God – idolatry is nothing but an unsustainable dead end that leaves the feeling of emptiness as opposed to one who travels through life with Him.

If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” – 1 Kings 18:21

Consider the following about those two masters, God and money:

·        The Lord says to seek first his kingdom and its righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

·        Money says hold on to what we have so we can feel secure.

·        God says we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).

·        Money says we should do whatever it takes to get ahead because “the person with the most toys wins.” Apparently someone forgot the axiom from the No Fear t-shirts we all wore proudly around our high schools in the ‘90s – that person still dies.

·        Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’s [in taxes] and to God what is God’s (Mark 12:17).

·        Money says it is acceptable – almost expected – to cheat the government via embezzlement, using various loopholes to lower our tax bills because the feds are poor money managers and they are trying to promote Robin Hood-style socialism according to some people.

·        God calls for us to be generous.

·        Money calls us to be selfish and hoard all of our wealth.

We impact our legacies either as givers or as takers. By living our lives selflessly and sharing our blessings with our fellow man with love, we are remembered for our gentle Christ-like spirit versus the one of mammon.

Which master are you choosing, and how will it shape your legacy throughout the remainder of this lifetime and eternity?