Which one Are You?

“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.” - Matthew 6:24 (HCSB)

MY PERSONAL TAKEAWAY

I believe the parable in Matthew 25 is talking about is stewardship. In short, stewardship is actively being responsible to do and/or take care of what God told you to do and/or take care of using the resources God provided you to use. Governance. Management. Implementation. Growth. Many may say, "God didn't give me the resources to do this or that ..." Let's be clear: everything belongs to God. The author of Psalms 24 wrote, "The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord." Everything that you have belongs to God. You know what else belongs to the Lord and we often don't think about it? The devil. Satan is a created being. He was created as an angel in the heavenly places. God created him. So yes, EVERYTHING belong to the Lord. Many people treat Satan as if he is God's direct opposite, he is not. By direct opposite, I mean that people treat Satan as if he is on the same level as God, but evil. Satan is NOT on the same level as God. Satan, originally named Lucifer, is a created being. He was an angel who used to reside in the heavenly places. (For additional information, read Revelations 12). God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere at the same time. God alone is the creator of all things. Okay, now that I've taken a nice detour and given you a brief synopsis of who Satan is not, let's get back to our work centered around the parable.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I woke up one morning feeling a deep, peaceful sense of urgency. I know, it sounds like a contradiction. How can a sense of urgency be peaceful? I don't know, that's just what I felt. After praying, I talked to a couple of friends; picking their brain as to why I may have been feeling that way. When the President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared a pandemic, I made a personal vow that during the time of self-quarantining and isolation, I would focus on whatever The Lord called me to do. I told myself, "Amy, you will not come out of isolation without something to show for it. You must complete what The Lord instructed you to do. You must cultivate a deeper relationship with Him." It's amazing how as time goes by, we seem to forget the personal vows we've made. So, in the midst of a pandemic, with the economy shut down and no signs of safely and fully reopening anytime soon, I woke up with a peaceful sense of urgency. COVID-19. No cure. No vaccine. No signs of reopening. I was mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared to be hunkered down for a minimum of 3-4 months. Honestly, I was truly enjoying my alone time. So again, why did I wake up with a peaceful sense of urgency? Well, a couple of weeks ago, after I declared my personal vow, I began working on a bible study magazine. I was so excited! Things were progressing well. Then the tide turned, but not for the better. Stagnation. I lost my mojo and became lazy as I began spending more of my time consumed with CNN, chatting on the telephone about what I watched on CNN, and watching movies. It's no wonder I woke up feeling the peaceful sense of urgency.