Matt. 6:19-21–Lay Up Right Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21–"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This is one of those passages that I need to go over often.  It is so direct and full but also convicting and difficult.  I would like to say that I don't ever have to deal with this, as in I never lay up earthly treasure for myself, but as it is I have to admit that I do sometimes struggle.  Perhaps the reason Jesus has to make such a clear statement about treasure is that we are so prone to striving after counterfeit treasure, that is, we are more eager for the temporal treasures that won't last than the treasures that don't. Moreover, Jesus is clear to assert that there is a direct connection between the treasure we seek and the nature of our hearts.  We would be wise to consider the content of this passage often, and as often as we do, to remember that anything other than Christ is but ash and cannot satisfy.

Taking a Stand against Gluttony

At this present time compulsive behavior is at epidemic levels.  Between the rampant obesity and the addictions to everything from television to the tweeting, the whole concept of moderation has been cast aside in favor of fanciful whims sought after in excess.  As a result of this, individuals are left impotent and dull to reality in the rapacious quest for the best, the most, and the newest.

However, behind this smokey haze of ravenous impulse lies an even darker tinge of debauchery and sin, lurking round every unsuspecting consumer for its moment to strike.  Ultimately, sin can be summarized as anything that separates an individual person from God and thus deadens the individual to God's voice or.  Therefore, the fiend bewitched with enamoring desires is, in fact, merely being pulled away from God by the insidious chains of the belly.

The content of the desire need not even be so blatantly dastard as rape or murder; for it is not the content that warrants sinfulness.  Indeed, it is the effect of rendering the sinner separated from the Holy Lord that signifies the sin and, hence, any thing can be the course for sin if it is delivers the person into a state of disregard for God, if not outright rebellion.

It is therefore prudent and necessary at these dire times of gluttony and greed disguised as consumeristic democracy, that the Church, and the Christians that comprise it, take a significant stand both in personal conduct and in voice.  We must strive to live lives not of avarice or insatiability but of the utmost joy and satisfaction, acknowledging that our fulfillment can never be met by the corporeal pleasures afforded by this world but is defined and provided in the Lord God Almighty, through His Son Jesus and appropriated by the Holy Spirit.  This is our call and it is our prayer.  Let us then not lose sight of this truth in a world that wastes innumerable resources to conceal it!

Contentment Over Coveting

When Jeffrey was a child, Billy, his neighbor and best-friend, got a brand-new bike for his birthday.  Jeffrey was so jealous for Billy's bike that he spent the whole summer mowing lawns and pulling weeds to make enough money to by a new bike himself.  It was late fall before he had enough to buy the bike.  When he finally purchased it, he could only ride it once before he had to put it away for the winter.

When spring came and Jeffrey took out his new bike to ride, Billy whizzed down the street with a new go-kart.  The mere sight of that glistening red machine sent Jeffrey's heart a flutter and he vowed to get one for himself.  He spent the whole summer mowing lawns, picking weeds, walking dogs, and babysitting in order to buy a go-kart for himself.  He worked so hard that he barely rode his bike at all.

But, by the time the first snow began to fall, Jeffrey had his go-kart, that he parked next to his bike all winter long.  When spring came Jeffrey proudly pulled his go-kart out into the street.  But when he got it started, he saw Billy pull into the driveway with a new car.  And again, Jeffrey looked with envy upon what his friend possessed to the neglect of what he himself already had.

Consider this classic story: a reporter once asked John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men ever, "How much money is enough?" Rockefeller looked at the reporter with a coy look and quickly answered, "Just one more dollar."

The theme is coveting, the desiring of what another possesses to the disregard of contentment and cultivation of what one already has.  Quite simply, covetousness is sin.  To desire the goods and gifts of another while neglecting how God has personally blessed us leaves us perniciously perched for sin.  The pertinent perspective to combat our proclivities towards covetousness is a matter of Christian contentment.

Jesus warns quites plainly, that we should "be on guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15)."  Christian contentment is based on our relationship with the Holy Lord Almighty.  If we feel malcontent, it is either because we do not know God personally, or we have not received the fullness of grace that He so freely gives to those who come to Him in faith.

To be sure, the world, which is in the power of the evil one, will always have new flashy objects and spectacles of fancy to garner our attention and energy.  These are but hollow distractions to take us away from His presence while we scramble for the newest gadget or next remodel.  This is not to say that to have new things is inherently evil, but to keep us on guard lest we fall prey to our own exaltations of accumulation.

Instead, let us remember the words of Paul, that with nothing we came into this world and with nothing will we leave, but let us be content with having enough food and clothing (1 Tim. 6:6-8).  The point that Paul is teaching Timothy (and us) is that contentment should not be dependent on how much or how many, but only on our status as adopted sons and daughter of the Holy Lord through the work of Christ.

The issue at heart is satisfaction.  For this we should take on the mind of Solomon, who writes in Ecclesiastes 6:9, "Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite," loosely paraphrased, enjoying what you have in front of you is far better than fretting over what you do not.  Let us then be satisfied in Him who provides!