Regis is famous for asking, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” The better question is “Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire?” Perhaps the only ones are the billionaires. We all think about it.
Many preachers talk about a prosperity gospel. “Follow God and get rich” is their mantra. Usually it involves sending them some cash. God will park a Mercedes in the driveway of your mansion.
Our passage today deals with this idea. (Give background of 6:1-18: giving to the needy, prayer, fasting.)
Read Matthew 6:19-24.
Jesus here lays out the proper attitude to money in a way that brings to a decision. The is…
1. Two SAVINGS
Jesus tells us that there are two places we can “lay up treasure.” We can save on earth or in heaven. Saving on earth is…
A. SHAKY investment
This is putting our faith in earthly resources. Many people feel secure by the size of their investment portfolio (stocks, bonds, bank accounts, real estate). That is very shaky. What happens when the stock market crashes? Inflation can eat away at our money.
Jesus says that moths can eat away clothing, which was a sign of wealth. Rust (or eating away) can destroy metals (or grains). Thieves can steal. It’s all shaky. Saving in heaven is a…
B. SOLID investment
Investing in heavenly things is as solid as you can get. Jesus isn’t condemning earthy wealth. There is nothing inherently wrong with wealth, and nothing inherently virtuous about poverty.
Inflation or stock market crashes won’t affect this treasure. Moths won’t get to it. It won’t rust. No one will steal it. It is absolutely safe. I used to help people save money for retirement, and they all wanted to know “How safe is it?”
C. SELECTION is your choice
Jesus says we have the choice of where we will save. “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are going to invest ourselves somewhere. Where will it be? Our culture’s primary measure of wealth is money. You can tell where a person’s heart is by where there they spend their money. Drugs. Entertainment. Recreation. Cars. Electronics. The Needy. S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A, is a very wealthy man who spends much on helping less fortunate children. He pays for 12 foster homes. Adopted 100s of children. $16million in scholarships to his employees. Where is your treasure? Where is your heart?
2. Two VISIONS
In Jesus day, it was believed that the eye was the window to the soul. Where we look determines what comes into our minds. Our eyes see what our mind wants to see. My son said, “When I close my eyes, I can see my house.” Where we look is where our heart is. It’s all a matter of where we look.
A. Vision of LIGHT
When we are focused on godly things, our bodies are full of light. Light and darkness are main themes throughout the Bible. Light helps us know where to go. I prefer to drive in daylight rather than at nighttime. With our eyes focused on God and our treasure in heaven, that is where our hearts will be as well. The alternative is…
B. Vision of DARKNESS
Who likes to drive at night? I used to have to exercise at night in the winter because of my job. I would look for streets that were well lit. If our eyes are bad, light cannot come in. If we aren’t focused on God, light cannot come in. Remember, heart determines where we look.
C. How’s your VISION?
Where are your eyes focused? Are the focused on the light? Or, the darkness? If we think we are focused on the light and we aren’t, that darkness is much greater. Darkness and light cannot coexist. Darkness comes when we are closed off to God. When we open up to God the light comes in. (Box illus.)
3. Two CHIEFS
We will serve someone or something. There are two that Jesus mentions: God and money. The original idea is larger than money. In the KJV (& others) it says mammon, which means wealth or possessions in addition to money.
A. We must have someone in CHARGE
My dad always told me there was someone bigger than me. Everyone has a boss. Even the president and CEO of a company answers to the stockholders. The President of the US answers to the voters.
B. We have the CHOICE
We don’t always have a choice of who we work for, but we have a choice about where our heart will be. Paul said that we should be “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” If you’re on the job and two supervisors tell you to do different things, you have to choose which one you will do. You will listen to (love) one and not listen to (hate) the other.
C. We have to CHOOSE
Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Who will you choose? Will you choose to serve God or earthly junk that will waste away? It’s up to you. There is no fence riding.
