If you’ve been in church for long, you’re probably familiar with these sometimes humorous, yet insightful, sayings about money:
- I’ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul.
- You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.
- You either control your money, or it controls you.
- Money makes a good servant, but a poor master.
- Show me your checkbook, and you will show me what’s most important to you.
The Apostle Paul’s often-quoted counsel to Timothy perfectly captures the tragic toll that the misuse of material wealth can take on a person’s life:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
As we walk with Jesus up the mountain to discover how to live as citizens of God’s kingdom, it makes sense that He addresses this critical issue. In fact, the remainder of Matthew 6 highlights both the proper and improper use of wealth.
Centuries before anyone ever said, “You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead,” Jesus taught this exact truth:
“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.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Before modern banking systems existed, people hid their wealth by burying it in the walls of their houses or in other secret locations. In that era, everyone understood the very real threat of insects destroying or thieves stealing a family’s hidden treasures.
While being robbed on earth is painful, robbing oneself of heaven for all eternity is far worse. Jesus made this clear:
“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?” (Mark 8:36-37)
When I read Jesus’ words, I am reminded of King Herod. Fearing his power, the people of Tyre and Sidon lavished rich praise upon him. But Herod experienced a sudden and terrible reversal just as he was reveling in their adoration:
The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!” And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:22-23)
Herod may have obtained much of the world’s wealth and glory, but his ignominious death was followed by the eternal loss of his life.
The preacher who said, “If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, you’ve made a bad bargain,” was absolutely correct.
The wisest course of action is to view our material possessions as loans from God. When we ask Him what He wants us to do with our money and obediently follow His lead, we are storing up treasure in heaven.
The Generous Eye
The last of the Ten Commandments addresses our human tendency to desire what we don’t have:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
No matter how much or how little they possess, a covetous person always wants more. However, when our hearts are captured by the rule of God, our attitude toward the things we once coveted begins to change.
Jesus invites us to look inward by examining how we view the world:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)
These words puzzled me until I learned that, in the cultural context of the rabbis in Jesus’ day, a “healthy” eye was understood as a “generous” one, while an “unhealthy” eye meant being “stingy.”
I have poor vision and wear prescription glasses that allow me to see clearly. If my glasses had the wrong prescription, my vision would suffer—and you’d need to run for cover if you saw me driving!
Similarly, if we look at the world through the skewed lenses of covetousness and stinginess, our vision becomes destructive, not only to ourselves but to everyone around us.
But when we put on the right glasses—lenses of generosity and contentment with what God has given us—we see the world in a positive light, and those around us will be glad to be in our company.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 