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

Matthew 6:24

In this verse from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching that we must make a choice. Whatever we allow ourselves to be dependent upon, that is what will control us. If we decide that we will expect our money to provide everything we need, then we are not depending on God. If we decide to trust that God will provide, then we can have money while holding it loosely without being controlled by our need for it.

I don’t think it is a stretch to examine other kinds of dependencies, and the hold they can have over us. To the extent that we are dependent on anything or anyone for our well-being, that thing or person automatically has some control over us. We adjust our behavior so that we can keep hold of that dependency, because we don’t want to lose whatever it contributes to our lives. But if we allow it (or them) to take God’s place in our lives, that has become an idol to us.

What are our sources of dependency?

For instance, an addict is dependent upon their drug of choice. If they don’t get it, they feel awful. They go to extreme lengths to keep their drug supply available. To overcome the addiction requires withstanding that bad feeling long enough to break through the drug’s control. They have to find a way to stop being dependent on it. Whatever benefit the drug is perceived as providing (escape from problems, pleasurable feelings, social connections) needs to come from a healthier source.

While addiction is an obvious dependency, it is by no means the only one. There are many things that we have come to depend upon in our daily lives. Here are some examples:

• Job: Employment is a blessing. The ability to work at a vocation, earning the income needed to support ourselves, is a gift from God. The practical benefit of being able to pay bills is obvious. But there is also a great deal of emotional benefit in the satisfaction of a job well done, and in the social interaction with co-workers.
• Vehicle: We live in a big world. Our jobs are often miles away from our homes; our churches are miles away in a different direction; our stores are in another; our families may live across the country. The cars that get us from one place to another make that lifestyle possible. The ships, planes, and trucks that get products from the manufacturer to our homes are additional vehicles that we depend on when planning our lives.
• Food: Look around next time you are in a grocery store. Marvel at the thousands of items from around the world that are available at your fingertips. In a restaurant, take time to appreciate that you can pick from a list of delicious choices and be having one of them for dinner within minutes. (Fast-food places time their drive-thru lines with a goal of 2-3 minutes, start-to-finish!)
• Utilities: Turn on the water. Flip a light switch. Flush a toilet. Light the gas stove. Set the thermostat. The water, power, and gas are delivered to the house (and the sewage is removed!) usually without our consciously noticing.
• Loved Ones: Our closest relationships are those we can turn to and know they will be there for us. Spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, church family… These precious people make our lives richer constantly, and we rarely take time to appreciate them fully.
• Government: We are fortunate to live in a nation designed to be run only by the consent of the governed. We have choices and voices that can make a difference in how our society is ordered. Our government provides security, structure, justice, and social-service safety nets to which we have become accustomed.
  • There is a growing movement in our country to have government take care of us in more and more ways. Healthcare for all, affordable housing via price controls, living minimum wage, etc. are all forms of saying “Government will make sure that you have everything you need.”

None of these are bad things. In fact, they are generally very good. What I want to examine is how these good things affect us, including our relationship to God.

How do our dependency-sources control our lives?

The issue under discussion in this article is “How much do we cede control to anything or anyone that we depend on?” How much are we willing to change our lives to accommodate our dependency-source? For instance:

• Job: We get up and dressed and to our workplace on time, even if we’d rather sleep late.
• Vehicle: We get to the gas station when it needs fuel. We spend time and money getting regular maintenance done. We spend more time and money when something major breaks down.
• Food: We plan trips to the store so that we get home before the ice cream melts. We dedicate a major room of our house to storing and preparing the food. Preparing, and then cleaning up afterward, generally takes longer than eating does.
• Utilities: We pay the bills. We fix the pipes and wiring. We call the professionals, pay them well, and adjust our schedules to be home for them when something needs serious work.
• Loved Ones: We drop what we’re doing to rush to their side if they need us. We check on them if there’s a storm, or if they miss an event, or don’t answer a call like they normally would. Sharing our lives is important to us.
• Government: We obey the laws and pay the taxes. We research candidates and vote for those who best represent us. We follow the news and grumble or cheer over what the politicians are doing. And, the more it takes care of us, the more it controls our lives ¹.

When we build or arrange our life around something (or someone), that thing or person is controlling our actions. The question is whether the amount of control is appropriate and balanced.

What if those sources went away?

What happens if — when — our dependency-source fails? What if it requires more than we are willing to give? What if we have to do without it? Our list again:

• Job: What if we lose the job, get laid off or the business closes?
• Vehicle: What if fixing the car costs more than we can afford? What if the supply-chain vehicles are prevented from moving their products?
• Food: What if the price goes up beyond our ability to pay? What if we had to grow and process our own food all by ourselves?
• Utilities: What if the power goes off, and stays off? What if clean water were not piped to us, if we had to carry it in buckets from the creek? Many people around the world live their entire lives without the convenient utilities that we take for granted.
• Loved Ones: Where do we turn if our loved ones are not available? Those we love cannot always be there. Far too many people in my circle have lost someone lately; my prayer list for them is depressingly long. That’s not even counting all the times that we as human beings let one another down for any number of reasons.
• Government: What if the government is unable to keep its promises? What if it can no longer provide safety, justice, or all of the social services we have come to expect?

Which of these potential failures strikes you the hardest? Any and all of them have happened to people around the world and throughout the centuries. A thoughtful look at how much it would hurt to lose any of these good things can tell us about the hold they have on us.

What if we depended on God?

All our lives, we will have this tension of dependence and control. There will always be people, things, and processes that provide something good that we need. In turn, we adjust our behavior to try and guarantee that those needs will continue to be met. If the people, things, or processes let us down, there may be little that we can do about it. What are we to do with this tension?

Jesus’ answer is “Seek first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33) All of the people and things listed are under His control, not ours…and not even theirs. Jesus says that if we put God first, He will provide what we really need. Back to our list…

• Job: God will provide a way to be productive, and use whatever skills we have to contribute to society.
• Vehicle: If we need to travel somewhere, the transportation will become available.
• Food: We will have enough to eat, even if it’s not our favorite foods easily available.
• Utilities: We will have have water, and power…even if water comes from the creek carried by muscle power.
• Loved Ones: God is always there to love us.
• Government: Whatever system of government we live under, God governs everything. Remember, the church began under the oppressive Roman Empire, and grew tremendously in that environment.

How much do I really trust that this is true? I tend to panic if the water is off for a few hours, or if the car won’t start. What would it take for me to relax even during a real crisis, and know that God will carry me through?

Bottom Line

What do you and I depend on the most? How much control does that have over our lives? What would we do if it were gone? In short, what are our idols?

How would life change if God had His proper place in our priorities? Are there any adjustments that need to be made to our behavior in order to keep close to Him as a dependency-source?

Note: A similar article about trust in God is “Security“. That also happens to be one of the first articles on this site, written about five years and 300 articles ago.😀 Others include “Just Enough“, “Eye of a Needle” and, most recently, “I Surrender All?“.

1. The questions too rarely asked include…
   …Why would anybody work to be productive if government gives them everything no matter what?
   …How much freedom is lost when government has the power to control who gets what?
   …Is government any good at managing money, or supply and demand, or timely delivery of services?
   …Who exactly is “the government”? Do the people in charge live under the same constraints as the governed?
   
   A quick look at any socialist/communist/government-controlled society gives a good idea of the answers!