Walang aliping makakapaglingkod sa dalawang panginoon, sapagkat kapopootan niya ang isa at iibigin ang ikalawa, paglilingkuran nang tapat ang isa at hahamakin ang ikalawa. Hindi ninyo maaaring paglingkuran nang pareho ang Diyos at ang kayamanan.

Mateo 6:24 (MBB)

In today’s verse, the word “serve” or its Tagalog translation “paglilingkod o paglilingkuran” was mentioned three times. Himayin natin. Una, ang alipin daw ay hindi maaaring makapaglingkod sa dalawang panginoon. Ikalawa, nagbigay si Jesus ng dahilan: Hindi kayang maglingkod nang tapat ang isang alipin sa dalawang masters. Kapag nagpumilit siyang maglingkod sa dalawa, tapat siya sa isa lang. Third, Jesus identified the two masters: ang Diyos at ang kayamanan.

There was a popular song in the 70s entitled “Torn Between Two Lovers.” It says something about a person feeling like a fool for being torn between two lovers.  Although this is a song about a love triangle, the refrain can be applied to anyone trying to love two masters.

Meron din tayong idiomatic expression na “namamangka sa dalawang ilog.” Literally, it means rowing in two rivers. You struggle trying to row in between two bodies of water that may flow in opposite directions. You will surely fall and get hurt along the way because doing so “breaks all the rules,” like the song I mentioned says.

So paano na? Ibig bang sabihin, hindi na ako maghanapbuhay? Masama bang kumita ng pera o mag-invest para lumago ang kayamanan?

Following Jesus does not mean relinquishing our jobs and our ambition to lead a prosperous life. It just means we do not value our material possessions more than God. We do not worry about our possessions and lose sleep over them. A simple way to check ourselves is being mindful of the time we spend worrying about money. How does it compare with the time we spend praying? Don’t be torn between two lovers. Instead, choose wisely and serve the better master.