Digging in Deeper: Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are 32 teams in the National Football League. That means on any given week, 32 individuals are at the helm of one of the 32 most elite American football teams in the world. In the most recent census, the population of the United States was about 330 million people. If I have my math right, that means on a given weekend, about one out of every 10.5 million people is playing at the quarterback position in the NFL. While any one person’s odds of being an NFL quarterback are fantastically higher than winning something like the Powerball jackpot (which should tell you something about how silly it is to play the lottery), they’re still not great. That means the only quarterbacking most folks are ever going to do is the armchair variety. It’s super easy to sit in the comfort of your recliner and know what someone should have done in a situation you could have in no ways handled if you were actually in their shoes. It’s not really a good look. So, naturally, this morning, I’m going to do a bit of armchair quarterbacking. What’s going on with Tom Brady?

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Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The heart of the American spirit is a desire to be fully in control of our lives. We want to be able to be the ones who accomplish whatever needs to be accomplished. We want to go where we want to go, lay our hands on what we need to get by, and stay as long as we desire. We want to have no one in charge of us, but to be our own masters. From the standpoint of our culture, that kind of thing is presented as noble and good. It is the desirable end for all people to be striving to reach. But what if there is a hidden cost to this way of life? What if there is a whole underbelly of problems that can wreck the whole thing? What if there was a better way? I’ve started reading a book recently that seeks to pursue these very questions. I’m nowhere near finished with it, but it’s been rumbling around in my mind enough that I want to get some thoughts out on digital paper. This morning, let’s spend some time talking about a fairly new book from author Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own.

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Digging in Deeper: Luke 16:13

“No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been a slave? Probably not. That being said, there are more people living as slaves around the world right now than at any other point in human history. Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry. How about this one: Do you have a master? Once again, your gut reaction to that question may be to say, “No,” but give this one just a little bit more thought. Just because you don’t have a human master (and, no, neither parents nor bosses at work count) doesn’t mean you don’t have any master at all. The truth is that we all have a master. What kind of master we have and how much freedom that master grants us is the real question. Let’s talk about it.

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