Where is your treasure?
TCF Sermon
September 28, 2008
Open with illustration. Have someone come and pick between two good things.
Is your heart with the cash, or is it with the chocolate? You can’t serve both cash and candy, at least this morning. You have to make a choice.
Jesus told us about a much more important choice in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV) "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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
In spite of what we hear from our culture in so many ways, money is not the most important thing in the world. Money is not our master, and we are not its slaves. You might think money is all-important if you’ve watched or read any news this week.
Our economy is struggling, and money, or the lack of it, or the misuse of it, has been in the news a lot in recent weeks. How to handle money at a national level is one thing, and certainly not an unimportant thing. But how we view money and possessions as individuals is perhaps even more important in the Kingdom of God.
In spite of the messages that we see on television, on billboards and every kind of advertisement there is, we don’t exist to acquire or possess. Money is not our god. However, it can become a god, an idol, if we don’t guard our hearts from the wrong kinds of affection. One pastor talked about money this way:
When I take ministry trips abroad, one of my first priorities after I deplane is to find an airport bank where I can convert my dollars into the local currency. Once I convert those dollars, I often also need to adapt to new customs for buying goods, giving away money, and paying those who serve me. Likewise, when we enter God’s Kingdom, our approach to money needs to be converted to the customs and economy we find there. Jesus wants to transform our entire stance – all our thinking and doing – toward money and wealth.
Cole Huffman
Let’s consider what that transformation in our attitudes about money might look like.
Did you know it has been ten years since we heard a full message related to money and possessions at TCF? I know – I looked it up. I know because I preached a message on this theme and it was 10 years ago.
We hear references to money or possessions in the context of other sermons, but I honestly can’t remember one message entirely devoted to this topic in the past 10 years.
Why do you think that is? In some churches, they take as much time or more receiving the offering as they do for many other elements of the service. Here, it’s about 90 seconds – at least that’s what Hallett tells me the worship team plans for each week while the offering bag is being passed, unless of course there’s some special music.
I think there are several reasons we don’t hear messages on money at TCF. One is that the leadership of TCF has always been sensitive to the idea of manipulation. When you give a tithe, an offering, or you give to missions, our true desire is that you would hear from God and respond to His voice. We don’t want to appeal to your emotions alone (though as Jim noted in his sermon last week, God is the creator of our emotions, and there’s something important about loving God with our emotions – and clearly one way we love God is in our giving).
We also don’t want you to feel guilty, and to give for that reason alone, though we do want you to discern between guilt and the righteous conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit in all areas, including how we use the resources God has blessed us with.
We certainly don’t want to promise you a hundredfold return.
I think in part because of these kinds of thoughts, we don’t usually spend much time receiving the offering, beyond perhaps an occasional passage of scripture and a prayer over the offering.
We might also think, as we seek the Lord about what we are to preach on any given Sunday, that at TCF, if we preach about giving, we’re preaching to the choir.
I can’t prove this with any objective data, because we’ve never done a study on such things and are not inclined to do so, but I’d guess that TCF members give a higher percentage per capita than most churches. I’m continually amazed at our offerings, and at our missions giving. And though I have no data to show this, I have plenty of anecdotal evidence where I’ve witnessed people giving sacrificially above and beyond their means.
We have no wealthy people in this church, but we have almost a quarter million dollar annual general fund budget, and we have 70 thousand dollar missions budget which doesn’t even include things like special offerings given for summer missions or short term missions or missions conference related items.
I think, too, that the leadership of this church finds much of the emphasis on money in some segments of the church at large, quite disturbing, to say the least.
So, even though I believe there are good reasons we don’t focus on money very often at TCF, I think there are also reasons why it’s good to examine the Word of God regarding what it has to say about money and possessions. I think ten years is long enough to wait between messages on this topic.
The volume of scripture dealing with money is amazing. The Bible has so much to say on this topic. In fact, some 16 of Jesus’ parables deal with money in some way. More is said in the New Testament about money than about heaven and hell combined. Five times more is said about money than about prayer.
On the subject of prayer and faith there are about 500 verses. On the subject of money and possessions there are about 2,000 verses. A Christianity that doesn’t affect how you handle your money is not worth much. The old adage about how you can tell a lot about a person’s faith by looking at their checkbook, is really true. When the Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we as followers of Christ are being transformed into His likeness, I think it’s safe to say that our checkbooks tell at least a part of the story of the Lord’s transformation of each of us.
So let’s begin to ask the question this morning, which is implicitly present in the passage of scripture we read a moment ago: Where is your treasure? Because the answer to that question determines where your heart is.
And as Jim preached last week, we’re to love the Lord with all our heart. I think we should start by noting that the church of Jesus Christ has wrestled with this idea through the centuries. The early church father Tertullian is quoted as saying: Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money.
Sir Roger L’Estrange, English author in the 1600s, said, He that serves God for money will serve the Devil for better wages.
John Wesley said: “Make as much as you can, save as much as you can, and give as much as you can.”
Martin Luther saw three conversions that were necessary for true followers of Christ – conversion of the heart, conversion of the mind, and conversion of the purse.
Quoting Luther: If silver and gold are things evil in themselves, then those who keep away from them deserve to be praised. But if they are good (creations) of God, which we can use both for the needs of our neighbor and the glory of God, is not a person silly, yes, even unthankful to God, if he refrains from them as though they were evil? For they are not evil, even though they have been subjected to vanity and evil. If God has given you wealth, give thanks to God, and see that you make right use of it.” Martin Luther – Lectures on Genesis
So, throughout the history of the church, it seems Christians saw that the problem we have with money is not money itself. It’s how we use it. There’s the greedy misuse of money by the world, and by some Christians, that gives money a bad name. On the one hand, there’s the striving to acquire it, and the accumulation of wealth and spending it to the point of excess.
Then there’s the opposite – the struggling to renounce it.
The result of both ends of the spectrum of these approaches to money, is that our trust is in our self-achievement rather than in God. This idea of trust related to material things is important. Can you see that? If our goal is simply to renounce money because it can be tempting, we can develop a sort of pride in not having as much as someone else, or a pride in giving away more than someone else. “Oh, those unrighteous rich people,” we might think.
But if our goal is to acquire more and more money, so we can acquire more and more stuff, there’s pride in our achievement, rather than gratitude at what God provides.
Where is your treasure?
Let’s look more closely at this passage of scripture for a moment. The word treasure implies the place in which good and precious things are stored or laid up. It’s something our heart is set on. It’s seen as the best thing.
The word heart, which we examined last week in Jim’s message, is the center our your whole physical and spiritual life. It’s the fountain and seat of thoughts, purposes, passions, desires, appetites and affections.
In verse 24, money is the translation of the word mammon. It means riches, gain, worldly goods. Mammon is an Aramaic word, and here’s something interesting. It’s derived from another word which means “that on which one puts one’s trust.”
One word study dictionary calls mammon “the personification of riches.” Another says it’s “wealth personified.” Money takes on a sort of personality, and it can become a personality in which we trust.
Perhaps that’s why we had In God We Trust put on our currency. But this understanding of mammon gives fresh meaning to the next part. It’s important to note that this verse doesn’t say we must not serve both God and money. It doesn’t say we should not. It says we cannot. In other words, it’s an impossibility.
With this as the backdrop of our understanding, we have to ask ourselves the question: What, or who, owns me? Who are we serving? Are we serving God or are we serving things?
Then, when we look at verses 22 and 23 of Matthew 6, these verses seem almost out of place in a discussion of money. We go from this discussion about treasure and your heart, to this seemingly dangling part of the passage, and then back to the discussion of money, in the context of serving God or serving money.
Our modern translations miss something important about this passage. The NIV says if your eye is good… But the KJV says, “if thine eye be single.”
This is a symbolic expression.
"this word is found only in Matt. 6:22; Luke 11:34 translated single, i.e., not complex, easy, used of the eye as not seeing double as when it is diseased. When the eye accomplishes its purpose of seeing things as they are, then it is haploús, single, healthy, perfect. Singleness, simplicity…" The Complete Word Study Dictionary
It refers to a singleness of purpose, able to see things as they are. A single eye keeps us from trying to have a double treasure. It keeps us from having a divided heart. The Word recognizes how easily money can divide our heart. Think about that metaphor. A divided heart.
Physically, a divided heart cannot sustain your life. We all have one heart, a single heart. It has one purpose. To pump lifeblood through our physical bodies. Cut that heart in half, and you die. I believe that’s the seriousness with which we need to see this whole issue of trying to serve two masters.
Speaking to us here, Jesus seems to be most interested in what treasure means to us, and what impact it has on our lives, and what it does to our ability to see life clearly, to see spiritual things clearly.
Having good eyes, or single eyes, seems to mean having a true perspective. Isn’t it true we can see something, but not see it correctly? As long as we’re torn between material and heavenly things, our judgment is clouded, as well as our spiritual vision.
We’re incapable of seeing things as God sees them. Our goal of life determines our view of life. If our goal is money or things, then our whole view of life is colored by that. In verse 24, the word master, as in “no one can serve two masters,” means “a lord who exercises power.
He to whom a person or thing belongs.” Also in that verse we see the word “serve.” This is from the same root word in the original language as doulos. As Jim Garrett has pointed out to us, doulos is often translated servant, but the literal meaning is slave.
So that begs the question once more. What, or who, owns me? Where is your treasure?
This passage of scripture is from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus repeatedly in this sermon shows two radically different ways of seeing things – of thinking about things. We can think of things the heavenly way – learn to see them as God sees them. Or we can think about things the earthly way – the way the world portrays them.
Jesus tells us here that earthly and heavenly fortune-hunting are in competition with each other.
Before we move on, let’s be practical here. We noted earlier that our challenges with money and possessions are not in money and possessions themselves. It’s in how we use these things. So let’s be practical here.
Does Jesus teach that saving is wrong? Does He teach us here that material things are all bad? And we should, as Christians, renounce these things? Where does common sense – which I believe is a God-given thing – end, and hoarding or greed begin, when it comes to money and possessions?
If we look at several passages of scripture, I think we begin to see a balance.
Proverbs 12:27 (NIV) The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.
Proverbs 13:22 (NIV) A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NIV) You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…
Proverbs 8:20-21 (NIV) I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
Colossians 2:20-23 (NIV) Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
So, we can see that God can and does bless his people, and that ultimately, there’s no spiritual value in despising material things. There’s also no value in indulging in material things. Things are not evil. It’s only that we have this tendency to make poor, or even evil use of things, and become idolatrous in our attitude towards money and things.
Jesus accepted poverty during His life on earth not because it was virtuous, but because to save us, He needed to leave heaven’s riches and become human.
In the Word of God, the rich are condemned only for their misuse of riches, not for being rich. This is just a sampling of scripture about the goodness of material things as a blessing from God.
We cannot and must not say that prosperity is any more evil than prudence. Nor may we condemn the possession of wealth.
John White, Money Isn’t God
You may be breathing a sigh of relief. These ideas may seem to let us off the hook a little bit. It’s OK to have money. It’s OK to spend. It’s OK to have things.
But it’s not that simple. As in all things in the Word of God, we see a balance. We see a perspective presented, and it’s not the perspective the world has.
The problem today is clearer than ever. And one problem is that the church is not much different from the world. We are consumed with consuming. To give you a little perspective, think about this. In 1950, 10% of all income in America was spent for luxuries. By 1980, that figure was 30%, and it was close to 40% in the 1990s.
I wasn’t able to find a statistic on whether or not this trend continued into the new millennium, but you can see a clear trend and make a good guess.
Of course, how we define luxury varies from person to person. Just ten to fifteen years ago, a cell phone might have been considered a luxury. Now it seems to be a necessity – and not just for those who haven’t replaced their land line with a cell phone.
Cable TV is another example. 25 years ago, it was a luxury. Now it might seem like a necessity to some. High speed internet is probably next – luxury or necessity?
Now, let me again note that I’m not saying it’s unspiritual to have these things. I have a cell phone. I have cable TV. I also have high speed internet.
Yet, as followers of Christ, we must constantly ask ourselves, when does this consuming cross the line and become materialism?
When are we serving money or things and not God? When are we building our treasure on earth and not in heaven? Yes, sometimes God gives us and allows us to enjoy material blessings. But we’re dealing with an attitude of the heart here. That sometimes makes the questions more difficult to answer.
Here’s another important element of this line of thinking: We shouldn’t try to answer these questions for our neighbor. But we should be answering them for ourselves. I would say this – if we’re not regularly asking ourselves these questions, we’re in danger of forgetting how to distinguish between those things we truly need, and those things that we just want.
Now, some of those things may be things which God, in His graciousness, allows us to possess, at least for a season of our lives. But if we’ve stopped asking the questions, we might already be falling into the trap that scripture describes. Materialism is destructive.
Here’s another key passage in our consideration of money and things today.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NIV) But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The Phillips translation of verse 9 says:
“men who set their hearts on being wealthy expose themselves to temptation. They fall into one of the world’s traps and lay themselves open to all sorts of silly and wicked desires, which are quite capable of utterly ruining and destroying their souls.”
Wow. If that’s not a sobering warning, I don’t know what is. The key phrase here is “want to get rich,” or as the Phillips says, “set their hearts on being wealthy.”
The implication is that there is a singleness of purpose for wealth. That leaves God totally out of the picture, and gives us fresh insight on what Jesus meant when He said you cannot serve both God and money.
We see people who spend a lot of money on lottery tickets or gambling. We see people who are obsessed with getting wealthy, to the point that they neglect their families. I remember a story several years ago about a man from Tulsa who drove to Kansas before we had our own lottery, and he spent $1100 on tickets for his chance to win millions in Powerball. That sounds to me like setting your heart on being wealthy.
The opposite of this, is the attitude Paul described in Philippians 4.
Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
In two weeks, we’ll look at some aspects of the secret that Paul talked about. The secret of being content in any and every situation. But, at least for this morning, you can quit sweating some. It’s not evil to have money. It is evil to love money, for money to own our hearts, because then you are serving it instead of God.
How do we regard money and possessions? We’ve talked some about the wrong attitude. In two weeks we’ll review these ideas, and then talk about the right, or perhaps righteous attitude, toward money.
Pray
