Moths and Money
November 18, 2007
Matthew 6:19-34
A few years ago, there was a really popular evening game show. It was on television every night. It’s not as popular, but still on television. The host was Regis Philbin and it’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Every night we would sit and watch and try to answer the questions, we would yell at the contestants when they used a lifeline before we needed one or when they got the obvious answers wrong.
One of the questions for one man to win one million dollars was this “What insect got into the world’s first computer causing it to short out and in the process started the use of the phrase “computer bug?” A) Japanese Beetle, B) Roach, C) Moth, D) Fly.
A 25-year-old California man sat in the “hot seat” and agonized over the answer as millions of Americans looked on, and those who knew the answer in their living rooms screamed it to their TV sets.
Before I show you the correct answer, let me ask you without help of lifelines, phone calls or any other type of help.
Which answer is correct?
Was it a JAPANESE BEETLE? NO
WAS it a FLY? NO
That leaves only 2 possible answers.
Was it a ROACH? NO
If you answered like the contestant, you won 1 million dollars!
So . . . what does this guy winning 1 million dollars have to do with the words of
Jesus? In some ways they are the antithesis of what Jesus is telling us. This man was able to use a moth to win one million dollars, while Jesus is telling us that those very same moths were the cause of destruction to wonderful possessions.
For a society that’s fascinated by money, wealth and possessions, the words of Jesus are difficult to absorb - - - “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
So, what’s Jesus telling us?
To understand Him, we need to understand what He means when He refers to moths, rust and thieves. Moths are not only “computer bugs,” they eat things, like clothes, we don’t want them to eat. In Jesus’ neighborhood, a person’s position in society was reflected by the clothes they wore. The more elaborate you dressed, the higher the rank and prestige. The wealthy even sewed gold into their clothes to shout to the world they were wealthy. When a person wore plain, normal clothes, that was an indication that person was, plain and ordinary.
You’ve heard the old adage, “Clothes make the man?” Well, in first century Judea, that was very much the case. If the moths got into all that wool, you could forget it. Suddenly, the rank and position in life reflected by clothing were out the window. There was nothing permanent about the treasure of clothing. And remember in those days they didn’t have moth balls.
What about “rust?” What does rust do? It “eats” away at metal just as moths eat away at clothes. The word Jesus used literally meant to totally devour something. There were no companies to rustproof your possessions, and they didn’t have “rust-o-leum.” What you had would eventually be devoured. Jesus was also referring to worms, rats, mice and other assorted little friends that eat away at your livelihoods, the grain bin. Little critters would pollute and destroy the grain. Obviously, there was nothing permanent about that kind of treasure either.
Lastly, there was the matter of the treasure that thieves would go after, someone’s precious metals, their gold and silver. Since there were no banks and safety deposit boxes, the only place to keep your money was in your home, hopefully in a safe and inconspicuous place. Houses were made of clay and mud; and a thief could easily break through the wall and steal your money. So Jesus is simply saying, don’t put your treasure in what can be ruined, rotted, or robbed.
A number of years ago, when the new Volkswagen Beetle was introduced, one of the features that received significant attention was that it was burglarproof. Volkswagen bragged there was no way anybody could steal their car. To demonstrate their point, VW hired a professional burglar and called a news conference. The thief was challenged to break into the car in front of the press. With reporters watching, and camera’s rolling, the burglar looked at the car and circled it for about ten minutes without ever touching it. Then after looking it over from every angle, he went to the front of the car, and with one swift kick he hammered the bumper and in a split second the airbags exploded, the door locks popped up, and the doors flew open. “The Executive Speechwriter Newsletter,” Vol. 16, No. 1.
Our material possessions and money, will not last, what will last is our relationship with Jesus and the legacy we leave for others.
A rich man died, and two men were talking about it. One asked the other, “How much did he leave?” The reply, “All of it.”
Good common sense wisdom says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...” But Jesus did not stop there. He added, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.” In other words, you can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead?
Heavenly treasure . . . ‘where moths and rust do NOT consume and where thieves do not break in and steal.’
Jesus understood what those words meant. He knew that we could always bank on God to come through for us. He lived the life - - - before coming to earth, while on earth, and in His time back in heaven. Jesus knows where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. He understands what it’s like to need, to want and to be tempted, but He trusted and believed in the Father’s plan and that is the plan we must trust in.
You see, the rich young ruler was a case in point. That young man had all the world could possibly offer, but even with all that, he knew something was lacking in his life. So, he came to Jesus to find out what was the missing link in his life. Jesus told him the problem was his possessions: “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22) But the young man couldn’t do it.
You see, he did not possess the possessions; the possessions possessed HIM. And whatever possesses you is your God. If you are possessed by any thing other than the God of heaven, you are possessed by that object. And it amounts to idol worship.
Understand, whatever you treasure, that is what you will long for. That is what grabs your heart.
We must answer the question, what grabs our hearts?
What is it we treasure? What comes first in our lives?
Is it our relationship with Jesus . . . or is it
something else which we treasure?
Be clear about this: neither in the story of the rich young ruler nor in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus saying anything against possessing property or money. Some read these words and interpret them to mean that no one should have anything of their own; that money and possessions are bad. That is not the point.
Jesus’ concern is about priorities. Whom do you love? Whom do you trust? When the priorities become skewed, the questions about love and trust begin to be answered with things like money, power, and control. They become our “lifelines” and our “final answers”. . . they become idols. Jesus said do not let that happen.
Money, money, money. It fascinates us. Regis asked, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and most of us would say I DO. Then we hear Jesus say, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Okay . . . so where do we go from here?
You may have been wondering about these apples on this table. I enjoy talking about money, because I understand how badly money and possessions grip our whole being. I firmly believe in what the Old Testament called us to do when it comes to giving back to God. We are to give 10% to God. I believe Jesus did not talk about tithing, which is 10%, because He took it as a given. There were no questions about it. But, 10% of my money is a lot of money . . . and you’re right, it seems like a lot, but once we start giving to God, we quickly learn we cannot out give God. His shovel is always bigger than our shovel.
Yet, God, in His generosity towards us, gives us so much and actually, believe it or not, wants us to keep more than we give Him. There are 20 apples. If I were to go and take 2 and give them to God as my offering, I have now tithed. I gave God 10% of my fruit. God gets 2 and I get 18. I think that is a pretty good deal, don’t you? Yet, it’s scary to take that step and commit to give, and to do it sacrificially.
For Debbie and I, 10% is our starting point. I say this not to gloat, but to tell you I won’t ask you to do what I will not do. When we pledge to the building fund for the Family Life Center, or give to a mission, or give for anything else, that comes after the 10%. We don’t say, ‘O we need to give an extra $100 to something,’ so we deduct that from our offering. Nope that comes after the 10%.
Today we have been collecting your pledge cards for the next 3 years of the FLC. We would love to pay it off in the next 3 years. That would be amazing, and the people of this church, YOU, have done an amazing job thus far, so GOOD on YA. But there is more to do!! There are so many people in Alexandria who do not know Jesus, and because they don’t, they don’t know about His amazing love and grace, they don’t know about God’s desire to bring transformation to the people of Alexandria; and this church made a commitment over 3 years ago to build this FLC. It’s a great facility, and over the past weeks you have learned of the various ministries that take place here.
In my eyes, the purpose of the FLC was two-fold. ONE - it was for us, to use it for functions as we fellowship with one another and play and hang out.
But in my eyes, as great as that is, that is the secondary reason, because the primary reason for the church, and thus the Family Life Center is to reach people in the name of Jesus Christ. It is to convert the world, yes convert the world into saving relationships with Jesus. We are called to be difference makers in this world, we are called to go into the world and lead people into saving relationships with Jesus.
On top of that, we have this amazing opportunity to change our little corner of the world, and when we do that, when we have invaded this town and northern Madison County and continue to extend the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Indiana and the rest of the world, how great it will be to hear reports of what Jesus is doing through people like you and me.
Yes, it takes money, and I am not ashamed to talk about it. We must be good, even great stewards with our resources, we are the guardians of the kingdom here on earth. God has entrusted us with the GREAT COMMISSION - - - to make disciples, to lead people to know the love and grace and transforming power of Jesus - - and we are to continue to lovingly push this forward. We do it because we have been touched and blessed over and over again by God. And because we love God and we seek to love one another, our greatest desire is to serve Jesus and see His kingdom grow.
We do it by being great stewards . . . stewards with out time, talents, gifts through acts of service.
We do it be being generous givers to the church. We give our money so that we can pay bills; but we give money to help finance the ministries and the missions which take place here and which we help finance all over the world.
So, what is our response? What is yours? As I said a couple of weeks ago, I want to be radically devoted to Jesus, to do that I must give Him my whole self, my money, my possessions and yes, even my life. Can we do that? Can we out give God? Never. And that is what makes giving so great. Whenever we extend ourselves for God, He always out-gives us.
It costs money to run a church, to have ministry taking place. We need people to participate physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and financially.
Regis used to ask, “Who wants to be a millionaire?”
Jesus responds, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus calls us to take a hard, hard look at who we are. He does not take 30 minutes to answer our questions, when 5 minutes will do. He is confrontational and radical. He calls us to do what we never believed possible. And it happens when we place Him first, when our greatest treasure is Jesus. He’s first, nobody else!! When that happens, our giving, our loving, our giftedness, our joy, our peace - - is magnified, and as a result, we begin to change our world.
So . . . what am I asking of you today. Literally, I am asking you to examine how you give to the church. It’s God’s church, not mine, not yours, it is God’s. How is God speaking to you today?
And that, my friend, is the final answer.
