Let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Two masters.

We've seen plenty of comedy shows take on the scenario of one person trying to tend to two sick people at the same time, or one worker trying to please two bosses, a child trying to please both parents. The comedic aspect comes in because the situations inevitably deteriorate to the point the one who is trying to please the others gives up in frustration, or everything falls apart and the one ends up pleasing no one. It's not until a decision is reached and the person is allowed to treat both those they were trying to please as one, or they choose one that the person has to please over the other, a chain of command is established, or a compromise is reached.  The point being all these scenarios reveal how having two 'masters' does not work out. And while they may be comedic fodder, there is a note of REAL truth in those scenarios.  The child trying to please both parents is necessary but not if the parents are giving conflicting tasks- that's when it becomes a situation that needs communication and understanding.  A person having two bosses, it does happen, but again when conflicting orders come from the bosses trouble arises. Having to tend to the need of two sick people when both are demanding attention above the other will bring about tremendous conflict and again an order of service has to be determined or the poor serving person will go insane.

We try to serve God and our flesh nature all the time. We try to mingle the two so that they get along. We call for many a compromise to make our flesh desires fit our God's commands, but it doesn't work.

When we serve our flesh we are choosing to serve our selves first over God and His command to serve others. The command to love others is just that a command to serve others, because love is the name we give the act of putting others first before ourselves, and boy do we have trouble doing that!

There are millions and millions of people who mouth the words of love to others but ask them to put others before themselves and serve the ones they are claiming to love and you get a whole other matter. 

When we say love we say as long as you meet the requirements of the sort of person I can love, I will love you. If you stop meeting those requirements my love for you just might stop too. If you dare to believe differently than I do then this will set up barrier between us and make it harder for me to love you. Yes, there are any number of conditions placed on love and our Savior simply said love as you would be loved.  Our Savior offered His love to all and then He offered a thing called forgiveness to those who didn't love at first. Endless opportunities to choose to love Him, until the point of death taking that opportunity away or the point of His return and all the choices having been made.

When we love we serve, when we serve we are given an opportunity to love.

If we love ourselves and our selfish desires we serve them.  If we love our God and His desires then we serve Him.

We have to ask ourselves who we are serving in all we do.  Yes, in all we do.

Sounds crazy doesn't it, expecting someone to ask themselves who they are serving when they wash the dishes, take out the garbage, brush their teeth, wash their face, etc.   The point here is to ask whether what they are doing is serving a SELFISH purpose.  Are they washing the dishes to impress someone, or simply because it's their duty to wash them?  Are they brushing their teeth to impress others or doing so because it keeps them healthy? What is the motive behind the actions, are they able to serve God better by taking the action, or is there a selfish motive behind it.  Most people would instantly say no way is it selfish to wash your own face- but what about the person who is obsessed with their own beauty and their washing routine goes far beyond a simple cleansing for health and well being? We can take actions that are considered perfect normal and pervert them, it happens all the time.

1Co_10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.

When we choose to serve our self in such away that we are doing so because we believe we are the most important thing in our own life and deserving of all we can give ourselves, we are choosing to serve something very temporary, something that will fade away, something that will wither away, something that will turn to dust taking absolutely nothing with them to the grave. All the beauty they ever possessed will be gone, all the wealth will be gone, all their selfishness gone, everything will be gone.  The only thing that is left is any treasure we've laid up in HEAVEN, and the only treasures we can lay up in heaven are SPIRITUAL and those that are SERVING GOD and GOD'S WILL ALONE.

If we try to serve our selfishness we truly will end up hating God, the TRUTH of God and all that He really is, not the manufactured God people have created to pacify themselves as they sin.

We simply cannot serve our selfishness and God, it's impossible.

We make the choice and we make it daily over and over in many, many ways choosing who we will serve. When we die daily, it's a death to self and selfishness we are dying to.

Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Take up his cross, and what is that cross for? It the instrument of death.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Daily this cross is taken up.

Every day we are to carry the instrument of death upon ourselves, and the death is one of self denial.

If we try to serve our selfishness and God we will ultimately fail and very miserably so.  If you find yourself very comfortable in your life and religion make sure you ask yourself if you've made any compromises with God's truth, seriously examine yourself.

2Co_13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

We have to examine ourselves, not simply accept that everything is peachy because we want to serve our self and God both.

If we aren't daily taking up the cross of self denial, we better be asking ourselves why not, and searching for that answer.  And remember the answer could be as simple our selfishness, as simple as our choosing to serve self over God. We have to acknowledge that we cannot serve our selfishness and God both. 

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Please Lord help us to choose YOU over our own selfishness in whatever form that takes. Satan has so many tricks and deceptions for us to get caught up in. Preserve us in YOU, protect us in YOU, let us live for YOU and only YOU, not for Satan and his pleasure.  Save us LORD, from ourselves and our inclination to self. 

All through YOUR love, YOUR righteousness, YOUR mercy and YOUR grace!

In You CHRIST, all in YOU!