Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 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 one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." — Matthew 6:24 (ASV)

No man can serve two masters:

He may serve two individuals, who have conflicting interests, but they cannot both be his masters.

Here our King forbids division of aim in life. We cannot have two master passions. If we could, it would be impossible to serve both. Their interests would soon come into conflict, and we would be forced to choose between them. God and the world will never agree, and however much we may attempt it, we will never be able to serve both.

Our danger is that in trying to gain money or in the pursuit of any other object, we should put it out of its place and allow it to gain mastery over our mind. Gain and godliness cannot both be masters of our souls. We can serve two, but not “two masters.” You can live for this world or live for the next, but to live equally for both is impossible. Where God reigns, the lust of gain must go.

Oh, to be so decided that we may pursue one thing only! We would hate evil and love God, despise falsehood and hold to truth! We need to know our disposition towards both righteousness and sin, and when this is ascertained, bringing us reassurance, we must stand for what is right with uncompromising firmness. Mammon is the direct opposite of God, as much today as in past ages, and we must loathe its greed, its selfishness, its oppression, its pride, or we do not love God.

For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Though some men's lives are a long experiment of how far they can serve the two.

For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Either the one or the other will be master; they are so opposed to each other that they will never agree to a divided service. You cannot serve God and mammon. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who says this, so do not attempt to do what He declares is impossible.

No man can serve two masters:

He can serve two persons very readily. For that matter, he can serve twenty, but not two masters. There cannot be two master principles in a man's heart, or master passions in a man's soul. No man can serve two masters.