Sermon on the Mount: Treasures
Sermon on the Mount: Treasures
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NASB1995
I confess to being a collector of stuff. My Mom had this affliction, too, and it made it very challenging when it came time to clean out their apartment after my Dad died (thank the Lord they downsized from their house to a smaller place many years before). Over the years I have collected folk art, books, Disney memorabilia, baseball memorabilia, and Steve and I spent several years creating a pretty nice original art collection (southwest, landscape and cowboy themes). Our refrigerator is covered with magnets from places we have visited and our on-line photo libraries are huge. We have all sorts of little trinkets and things that need to go, soon! Some of this earthly detritus is still stuff from my Mom’s collections. We have also collected many memories from our traveling and experiences. I enjoy some of these things and those memories, but, truly, they are idols, interfering with keeping God at the center of my life. The First Commandment clearly states that we shall have no other Gods before our God and the Second Commandment says that we shall not create idols.
I am so convicted by the Holy Spirit reading and researching these verses. NOTHING in our home and lives will make the journey with us at the end of our days. I’m not even sure of the memories; we may have them, but they will be meaningless or of far less importance when serving God at His throne and we may lose them anyway in this lifetime through Alzheimer’s or dementia. Compartmentalizing our lives to try to have the stuff we want and still attempt to be a “good Christian” is really a fool’s errand. I am not content (most humans are not) - I’m still thinking about the next trip or the next experience, even if the collecting of physical stuff now has essentially ceased.
We justify the things we like to do by saying we are helping people make a living by serving tourists or working on cruise ships or we help others by having an RV ministry, but that is a meager justification. Talking about this with Hubby right now as I’m writing this, he did point out that even our most devout pastors and leaders in our church still take vacations and decorate their homes and provide stuff for their kids. It is part and parcel of the restless, curious, and acquisitive nature of fallen humans to concentrate on this life and the things it offers. But Jesus interrupts that folly and tells us where our loyalties really should lie.
The treasure we store on Earth should turn into treasures in Heaven, which are accumulated by helping others in this life. We’ve made arrangements for our collections (especially the art), our property and our home to be sold after we die to benefit our church and other worthy causes through a charitable trust, since we don’t have children. I think it’s time to start the culling process now to benefit others, before thieves break in or a fire happens, and to think carefully about our leisure hobbies. Yes, you will see us probably still go on trips, but God should guide our steps, not our own selfish desire to do something. I guarantee, though, that I am the ultimate hypocrite, even worse than the Pharisees, when it comes to coveting treasures in this life. A matter to pray about as much as possible!
Here is what David Guzik has to say about treasures in Heaven, from his Enduring Word ministries:
b. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven: In contrast, heavenly treasures are everlasting and incorruptible. Treasures in heaven give enjoyment now, in the contentment and sense of well-being that comes from being a giver. But their ultimate enjoyment comes on the other side of eternity.
i. It has been wisely observed that a moving truck full of possessions never follows a hearse. Everything one might take with them to the world beyond is left behind. The pharaohs of Egypt were buried with gold and treasures to take into the afterlife, but they left it all behind. Even further, though gold is a precious thing on earth, God uses it to pave the streets of heaven.
ii. Jesus once told a parable that has troubled some. In Luke 16:1-14, He spoke of a dishonest manager, who was about to be called to account. Knowing he would be fired, he began to settle accounts with his master’s debtors at terms favorable to the debtors, so they would treat him kindly when the master fired him. The master ended up complimenting the manager for his shrewd tactics (presumably before he fired him). This dishonest manager was praiseworthy for two reasons. First, he knew he would be called to account for his life and he took it seriously. Second, he took advantage of his present position to arrange a comfortable future – and we can use our material resources right now for eternal good – even though we can’t bring them with us.
iii. Our material treasures will not pass from this life to the next; but the good that has been done for the kingdom of God through the use of our treasures lasts for eternity, and the work God does in us through faithful giving will last for eternity.
c. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also: Jesus drew the conclusion that you can only have your treasure (and your heart) in one place; we can’t store up treasure on earth and on heaven at the same time.
i. “It is not so much the disciple’s wealth that Jesus is concerned with as his loyalty. As Matthew 6:24 will make explicit, materialism is in direct conflict with loyalty to God.” (France)
My next Sermon on the Mount devotional will examine Matthew 6:22-23, The Light (or Darkness) in our Eyes
Excerpts from commentary from David Guzik on Enduring Word are used with written permission.