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, Matthew 6:24.

This verse teaches us that one master will be preferred, and the other despised, i.e., thought less of or held in less esteem. It does not mean that we deplore or disrespect the Master, but that other masters are held in less esteem by us.

This principle could be illustrated by Jacob and his two wives. Jacob loved Leah, but he loved her less than Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel more. I want to read this to you out of Scripture so you will see what I mean. GEN 29:30 says, "And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." That does not mean Jacob did not love Leah, but he loved Rachel more. Jacob's love to Leah was not wholehearted.

Our text is not saying we must have a righteous indignation against our life or against the blessings the Lord gives us in the way of prosperity, but we must love them less than we love the Lord. We must be willing to sacrifice everything for the Lord. This is why we cannot serve two masters, we will love the one and hate the other, i.e., we will love the one less than the other.

Jesus described true Godliness in MAT 22:37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." What does this mean? It means we hate our life, father, mother, everything. Does that mean with indignation? No. It means we love them less than the Lord. It means we love God above all; "This is the first and great commandment," MAT 22:38. This is the first table of the law; it is the very basic and essential element of Godliness.

Elijah said in 1KI 18:21, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." Elijah is saying we can't serve both; serve one or the other. Trying to serve both is to serve neither.

A double-minded man must not think he shall receive anything from the Lord. Being double-minded means trying to serve the world and the Lord together.

JAM 1:5-8 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double- minded man is unstable in all his ways." If our heart is divided or split trying to serve ourselves and the Lord, we shall receive nothing of the Lord; He will spew us out of His mouth.

The Lord requires a wholehearted service. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," JAM 4:7-10.