Making Choices

Image: J.A. Ferguson

It seems a man was very troubled with many problems.
He took an oath promising
to sell his house and all its furnishings
and give them to the poor
if his problems were ever solved.

And there did come a time when his problems were solved.
Life became peaceful again.
But by this time the man was not sure that he wanted
to sell his house and all its furnishings
to give the money to the poor.
He considered what to do.

       Finally he decided.
He put his house up for sale for one piece of silver.
But in order to buy the house
one also had to buy the cat that lived in the house.
The cat sold for 10,000 pieces of silver.
Soon the man had a buyer for the house
and all its furnishings
AND the cat. 

      When the deal was done
the man gave the one piece of silver to the poor
and pocketed the 10,000.

“The Oath”
from Tales of the Dervishes;
Teaching Stories of the Sufi Masters
over the Past Thousand Years
by Idris Shah.)

What do you think? Was he an ethical man? Who did he serve first – himself or the great good? Where was his heart? I think he would have struggled with Jesus saying, “You cannot serve God and wealth.” It is one of his most demanding. We hear him say it twice in the four gospels. Once in Matthew 6 and then again in Luke 16. 

"No one can serve two masters;
for a slave will either hate the one 
and love the other,
or be devoted to the one and despise the other. 
You cannot serve God and wealth.”

His saying echoes his ancestor, Joshua, who asked the people of Israel who were new to the abundance of the land of promise, “Whom will you serve?” (Joshua 24. 14-24) Will you serve the gods of your new neighbors, the Amorites, in this land of abundance? OR Yahweh, the Lord, the God who had brought you out of slavery and through 40 years in the wilderness to live in the Promised Land? Joshua said to the people, “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.” 
 
Joshua’s question and Jesus’ blunt statement are still relevant for us today. Who will we serve? Yes, we must make a living, do the best we can for our children’s welfare and education, pay our debts, save for retirement. But as we do all of this, who will we serve? God or wealth. We cannot serve both with ultimate allegiance. 
 
I know this is hard stuff. When it comes down to our most important decision making what comes first? Our fears and concerns over money? OR our faith in the abundance of God? If we are trusting the God we know through Jesus who lived out God’s self-giving love, will God ask us to put the families that God gave us in danger, in order to give back to God? I don’t think we serve that kind of God. Remember the God of the Joshua and the people of Israel was the God who delivered the people from slavery and oppression, who preserved them in the wilderness. The God of Jesus was with him through death into resurrection. God has given us the abundance of life that we enjoy. Won’t this God help us make decisions about the use of our money? Doesn’t the God who gives us life here on earth and life eternal deserve our trust as we prioritize the use of all we have been given? 
 
Who will we serve? And where is our heart’s first allegiance?

Blessings on the journey,

Author

The Rev. Jane Anne Ferguson, Associate Minister, is a writer, storyteller, and contributor to Feasting on the Word, a popular biblical commentary. She is also the writer of sermon-stories.com, a lectionary-based story-commentary series. Read more