— by Leadership Edge Inc.

The soul is meant to be a place of only one thing. And that one thing must be God. If it is anything other than God or if it is more than God, our lives will be unsettled and divided. The evidence of a soul focused on God alone is a growing knowledge of God, a longing for Him to be glorified in all things and a dependence on His grace for all that we do and become. — John Hawkins

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." — Matthew 7:41-42 (ESV)

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. —  Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. — Jeremiah 24:7 (ESV)

One of my life's blessings and educations has been mentoring students at three of the most highly-rated American MBA programs. The immense cultural pressure in these schools toward self-promotion and maximizing career opportunities is often unnoticed but always powerfully at work, bombarding the mind and soul with messages of what's really important. As I've watched Christian students contend with this cultural pressure, they tend to land in one of three places. Some remain clear and fixed on knowing God and living for Him as the most important thing and evaluate the screaming cultural voices accordingly. This is evidenced by how they spend their time and money, what they talk about, what they sacrifice for, the shape and content of their prayer life, their time in the Word and the overall balance of their lives. They make internship and career decisions by faith and godly wisdom, which sometimes accords with the sensibility of the culture, but most often does not. These students remind me of the man God has called me to be.

Others give way to the screaming and haunting voices of the culture by running after the prescribed paths of self-promotion and career maximization and then "smear a thin layer of Jesus on top" to make it acceptable to their Christian friends and perhaps to God Himself. Largely these people get along fine until a life tragedy occurs (or until they don't get the job that they've spent two years positioning themselves for). And then they become cynical and hardened toward God for allowing this tragedy or disappointment to come their way. These students remind me of the man God hasn't called me to be.

But it's the third group that often sadly amuses me and with which I can very deeply identify.  These are the ones of two masters (Matthew 6:24). Their soul is divided by and conflicted from trying to have two most important things—God as one and their career and financial fulfillment (and their associated fears of "not having it all" and "what will others think") as the other. I've seen MBA students go through amazing spiritual and conversational contortions as they try to hold these two together. And though these contortions are at times sadly amusing to watch, I've lived long enough, and at times contorted my own soul enough not to remain amused very long. These young leaders are still in the trajectory setting years of their lives. And many of them have not yet learned that a divided soul will undermine their life. These students remind me of the great importance and immense difficulty of having a soul set on God alone.

The truth of what occupies our soul always comes out eventually in how we live. Specifically, we see over time what occupies our soul by how we spend our time and money, what we talk about, how we treat others (especially the disadvantaged), what we sacrifice for, the shape and content of our prayer life, our time in the Word and the overall balance of our lives. We ultimately see what occupies our soul by what we most long for.

Amid the honor of preparing dinner for Jesus, Martha is told by Jesus that only one thing in life is necessary.  And that one thing isn't preparing dinner for Him; it is instead, He Himself. Jesus had already told his followers that no one can serve two masters—we'll eventually come to love the one and hate the other. By His nature, God threatens any other thing that we hold at the same level at which that He Himself is held. Jesus' seemingly hard statement about no one being able to serve two masters is a statement of exceedingly kind guidance, that if followed, will save us from a frustrating and wasted life.

So tonight I pray the words of Jeremiah 24:7 back to God. "Dear Father please give me a heart to know that you are Lord.  Remind me of all it means that I am yours and you are my God.  Cause me right now and all day tomorrow to return to you with a whole heart—wholly and only yours forever."

Other Great Thoughts to Consider

A zealous man is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing—he cares for one thing—he lives for one thing—he is swallowed up in one thing—and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives—or whether he dies; whether he has health—or whether he has sickness; whether he is rich—or whether he is poor; whether he pleases man—or whether he gives offence; whether he is thought wise—or whether he is thought foolish; whether he gets blame—or whether he gets praise; whether he gets honor—or whether he gets shame—for all this, the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God's glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he is not worried—he is content. — JC Ryle

There is an interesting reflection to be made on Kierkegaard's definition of being a saint — someone who can will the one thing. Most of us are quite like Mother Teresa in that we want to will God and the poor. We do will them. The problem is we will everything else as well. Thus, we want to be a saint, but we also want to feel every sensation experienced by sinners; we want to be innocent and pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life; we want to serve the poor and have a simple lifestyle, but we also want all the comforts of the rich; we want to have the depth afforded by solitude, but we also do not want to miss anything; we want to pray, but we also want to watch television, read, talk to friends, and go out. Small wonder life is often a trying enterprise and we are often tired and pathologically overextended. — Ronald Rolheiser

Take it to the Lord

1. Read through this meditation again, asking God to open your eyes, mind, heart and soul to His message for you today.

2. As He speaks to you, listen. Ask Him to guide you as to what you should do with what He says and for the grace to do so.

3. End your time with some form of worship—prayer, praise, thanksgiving or surrender.

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[ Photo by Philipp Berndt on Unsplash ]