The Myth of Spiritual Multitasking: Choosing Your Master

 


The Myth of Spiritual Multitasking: Choosing Your Master

We live in a world obsessed with multitasking. We text while walking (and occasionally meet a streetlamp face-to-face), we cook while on Zoom calls (and burn dinner), and we try to watch Netflix while studying (and remember nothing).

Science tells us that humans aren’t actually "multitasking"; we are just rapidly task-switching, which reduces our efficiency by up to 40%.

But while multitasking might just result in a burned casserole in the kitchen, Jesus warns that trying to "multitask" our devotion is spiritually dangerous. In His teaching on "How Shall I Then Live," He makes a shocking, either/or statement:

"No one can serve two masters. Either they will hate the one and love the other, or they will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24)

The Heart is the Headwaters

Everything in the Christian life starts in the heart. Jesus taught that our outward actions—our "religious service"—are merely the fruit of what is growing inside. As Mark 7:21 reminds us, evil thoughts, greed, and arrogance all start "from within, out of people’s hearts."

If the heart is the "wellspring of life," then we have to be incredibly careful about what we allow to sit on the throne of that heart.

The Danger of "Mixing" Faith

In the book of 2 Kings, we see a tragic pattern. When the Assyrians settled new people in Samaria, the Bible says, "They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods" (2 Kings 17:33). Later, King Manasseh tried to mix the worship of God with sorcery and divination.

We see this today, too. We call ourselves Christians, but we seek guidance from mediums, personality tests, or worldly "gurus" rather than trusting the Holy Spirit. We want the security of our bank accounts and the security of God.

But Jesus doesn't give us room to dabble. It is not a both/and relationship; it is an either/or devotion.

The Antidote to Anxiety: Birds and Lilies

If we aren't serving money or worldly security, what happens when the bills are due? This is where Jesus addresses our worry. He asks us to look at two things:

  1. The Birds: They don’t sow, reap, or store in barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
  2. The Lilies: They don’t labor or spin, yet they are dressed more beautifully than King Solomon. If God clothes the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, will He not much more clothe you?

Worrying doesn't add a single hour to your life—though it might feel like it’s taking years off! Worry is the "pagan" way of living. As an adopted child of God, you have a Father who already knows what you need.

How to Live: Seek First

So, how do we stop the "double-minded" living that James warns us about?

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

To Seek the Kingdom means prioritizing God’s values and purposes over our own selfish ambitions.

To Seek His Righteousness means moving beyond "cultural Christianity" and into a personal, surrendered relationship where we don’t just believe in Him—we live like Him.

Three Questions for Your Week

Living for Christ leaves no room for pretending. As you go about your week, I invite you to pause and honestly answer these three questions:

  • Where is your treasure? (What are you spending your emotional energy on?)
  • Who is your master? (Who gets the final say in your decisions?)
  • Who is your Father? (Are you living like an orphan who has to provide for themselves, or a child who is perfectly loved?)

Don't take on the weight of tomorrow. Today has enough of its own challenges. Trust that the one who created you is the one who will sustain you.

Originally delivered 2025.04.27

 

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