A House Divided

You may think it was during the Civil War that Abraham Lincoln that coined the phrase, "A house divided against itself will fall", but Lincoln was quoting Luke 11:17. Jesus said these words after he had just cast out an evil spirit and had been accused of being demon-possessed (see Luke 11:14-20). Jesus was making the point that a demon would not and could not cast out one of its own. I am writing along these same lines, and yet a bit different. My lesson today is to show that one cannot serve God and something else that contradicts God's Word. If we try to serve Christ while worshipping something other than Christ, our heart becomes a house divided. We are certain to fall spiritually, emotionally and/or physically.
In Joshua 24, Joshua is challenging the Israelites to choose whom they will serve: the false gods or the True God. "Now fear the Lord and serve the Lord with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped... and serve the Lord... Choose for yourself this day whom will you serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15 This is my challenge to you today as well. Will you throw away your false idols and serve the one True God?

One of the biggest idols in people's lives is money. Television evangelists are obsessed with it. They are not doing the Lord's work; they are heaping riches upon themselves while very little money goes to help the poor. Their messages are watered-down feel-good sermons that never make one uncomfortable because they want happy listeners to write big checks. If they told you the Truth that one must remain grafted in the vine (Jesus) lest they risk losing their salvation (see John 15:1-10), they would lose viewers who do not want to be condemned for their sins. More importantly, they would not be able to afford their material possessions. Why do they deceive the masses? Simple: money. They worship money, not God. There are a lot of verses in the bible warning about the love of money. Jesus clearly tells us, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13 Could it be more clear? If one loves money, he will hate God because God wants us to give money to the poor, not keep it all for ourselves. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a beautiful home, nice vehicle, nice clothes, etc.; God often blesses those that genuinely serve Him with wealth and the good things in life. The problem is not being wealthy, but when we ignore the needs of those literally and spiritually starving, we are not using that money to glorify God. When one compromises their beliefs or goes against the principals of the bible to earn that money, it is also an affront to God. (I am not just speaking of false evangelists, but also of people who embezzle, steal, run business that sell immoral products, cheat, etc.) I am currently far from wealthy, but if I was ever to obtain wealth, I would donate to charity before buying the things I wanted. Yes, I would also have some nice things, but materialism will never prevent me doing my best to honor God with a clean lifestyle, and I would still work for God. The balance is not to become obsessed with inanimate objects over people's souls.

When you worship money while attempting to serve God, your heart is divided between God and greed. Paul says it so much better than I do, so remember his words, not mine. In 1 Timothy 3, when Paul lists the qualities of a deacon, he says that he "must not [be] a lover of money." (verse 3) That goes for all wanting to be leaders but is also great advice for non-leaders as well. Paul goes on in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 to warn, "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds if evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." And for those who are wealthy, Paul says in verse 17 of the same chapter, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth which is uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything."

Hebrews 13:5 says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have." And in 1 Peter 5:2, Peter says that the "shepherds of God's flock" should "not [be] greedy for money, but eager to serve." Additionally, Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived says in Ecclesiastes 5:10, "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." I would go on to add that loving God may cause you to feel like you can never be in His presence enough, and yet loving and serving God will always leave you satisfied.

Enough about money! There are other ways we serve the wrong master. Isaiah 5:2 warns," Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness." For modern times I would say this warning is for those who call themselves Christians but have no problem watching or reading things that have to do with the occult. Jesus clearly says in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." Just entertainment may be animated, that does not make it harmless. There is nothing innocent about witchcraft. It is no wonder so many of today's children raised in Christian families grow up confused and fall away from the Truth. When mommy and daddy say God is good and the devil is bad, but then watch movies and television shows glorifying hexes, spells, and curses, the children cannot quite figure out what is right and wrong, the lines get blurred and black and white turn grey. Dressing up like a witch or reading a book with magic in it right after going to church absolutely makes one's house divided, and it will surely topple and fall. I am not saying all children will grow up rebellious when raised in homes where the parents say worshipping the devil is detrimental, but then turn on Sleeping Beauty, Harry Potter, or even Star Wars, but they will be spiritually confused. Nightmares manifest for a reason. Watching or reading about characters in stories casting spells will bring evil spirits in your home. Period. The same goes for rock music and watching violent programs. (You can read a list of scriptures that show us how much God hates witchcraft here: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2023/10/should-christians-celebrate-halloween.html )

There are many, many other idols and/or Godless principals we can follow that will divide us from God such as fame, physical pleasures (especially dangerous are those that harm others), other people, and even your own vanity, but I will leave off with just one more issue. You cannot serve God and religion. Think that did not make sense? I am not trying to insult any one's beliefs, but there are many into traditions rather than into God. Remember the blog I wrote a short while ago about placing God in a box?  https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2024/07/dont-place-god-in-box.html Well, that's what I am talking about. When we serve the rituals, we are not serving God, we are serving the motions. When we worship a certain country or race of people that represent a religious belief, we are not honoring God. When we want to be just like Pastor, Priest, or Rabbi So-and-So or love any article that represents a certain religion, rather than focusing on wanting to be like Jesus, our heart is divided and we are not serving God, but man and/or manmade religion.  When we love and serve the attributes of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, with a desire to imitate those characteristics, our hearts are in the right place. 

Hopefully this all makes sense. I want to close by repeating my second paragraph. Please really think about it. In Joshua 24, Joshua is challenging the Israelites to choose whom they will serve: the false gods or the True God. "Now fear the Lord and serve the Lord with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped... and serve the Lord... Choose for yourself this day whom will you serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15 This is my challenge to you today as well. Will you throw away your false idols and serve the one True God?