What to Seek and Whom to Serve
The sermon warns against the dangers of a spiritual squint, which occurs when one tries to serve God and mammon simultaneously, leading to spiritual and moral compromise.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the importance of having a clear inner purpose and intention in our spiritual lives, warning against the dangers of trying to serve both God and material wealth, which leads to a distorted vision of our true priorities. He illustrates this with the example of Edward Irving, whose childhood experience caused him to have a squint, paralleling how many attempt to balance their devotion to God with worldly desires. Meyer references John Bunyan's character Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, who ultimately deceives himself by trying to please both God and the world, highlighting the futility of such a divided heart.
Text
Matthew 6:19-26
What is in our inner life which answers to the eye of the body? Some have said that it is the intellect; others the heart. But it is truer to say that it is the inner purpose and intention of the soul.
When our physical eye is in an unhealthy condition, the image is doubled and blurred. To use a common expression, it has a squint, such as affected the noble face of Edward Irving, the noted English clergyman. We are told that as a babe he was laid in a wooden cradle, in the side of which was a small hole through which he watched what was going on. This distorted his vision through life.
So we may look two ways at once.
The endeavor to serve God and mammon, to stand well with both worlds, to lay up treasures on earth and at the same time be rich toward God, is a spiritual squint. John Bunyan tells of Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, who kept one eye on heaven and the other on earth; who sincerely professed one thing and sincerely did another. He tried to cheat God and Devil, but in the end cheated only himself and his neighbors.
Sermon Outline
- I. What to Seek
- A. The inner purpose and intention of the soul
- B. Not the intellect or heart alone
- II. The Dangers of a Spiritual Squint
- A. Trying to serve God and mammon
- B. Laying up treasures on earth and in heaven
- III. The Consequences of a Spiritual Squint
- A. Cheating God and Devil
- B. Cheating oneself and neighbors
Key Quotes
“The endeavor to serve God and mammon, to stand well with both worlds, to lay up treasures on earth and at the same time be rich toward God, is a spiritual squint.” — F.B. Meyer
“He tried to cheat God and Devil, but in the end cheated only himself and his neighbors.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We must prioritize our inner purpose and intention, aligning our thoughts, words, and actions with God's will.
- Trying to serve both God and mammon is a form of spiritual deception that can lead to spiritual and moral ruin.
- We must choose to be rich toward God, laying up treasures in heaven rather than on earth.