Matthew 6 – Part 7 – HOW AM I EXPECTED TO LIVE WITHOUT A SUPER FUND?
If on the one hand I am to believe that as many Christians do that I should not be rich, then why am I investing in a Superfund and why am I not in India right now caring for the poor, or even better - in Haiti? Why have a job at all because it only earns money that I am not supposed to store on earth? I’ll be continually guilty.
Jesus is teaching about how to use your money the way God intends in Matthew 6:19-34. He says, “Don’t STORE UP treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. (ie don’t regard your money from a human perspective, accumulating it for selfish purposes and then either die before it’s used or have it stolen before it’s used).
When He says store your treasures in heaven, I think He is saying store your earthly treasures in a heavenly way. He has already spoken about His Kingdom coming to earth in the Lord’s prayer. In other words His purposes and authority is to be exercised on the earth.
Storing riches in heaven is about using my resources for His purposes, under His authority, in His way. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” (In other words – regard your money from God’s perspective not from a selfish perspective. Accumulate it for Godly purposes. That will not only bless your family but lots of other people as well.) Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. (If you have God’s perspective on money, then you’ll use it correctly). Now I know that this is not a common interpretation and so I may be wrong. I’m just wanting to keep this passage in context with having the right motivations about things.
The question to ask is “How do I think about money? The saying is that “we can be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good.” The fact is that we are more often SO EARTHLY MINDED THAT WE ARE OF NO USE TO GOD. When our thinking on earth lines up with God’s way of thinking in heaven we might end up doing some earthly good that actually does make a difference for eternity.
I can be so concerned about my house, or in our case where we live, or by having the right kind of clothes, cars and profession, I can be so concerned about my property, my money, my investments, that my whole thought life is dominated with my security and wealth on this earth. Even when I don’t have these things, (which in our case is true at present), I can have my thoughtlife dominated by acquiring them.
One good thing the worldwide market crash had was to help us realise that nothing on this earth is secure and lasting. The fact is my body is getting older. I am bald and too fat at present (I’ll always be bald, but the fat part I can do something about) and in the end I will die. So will you (although you may not grow bald and fat. You know what I mean!) Any security I have, any permanency I have is found in God, who is eternal.
What do I value the most on this earth? A treasure is something I value and is worth something to me. I saw a kids movie once called “Wall-E” where a robot who was designed to throw away junk looked at a diamond ring and throws it away, but keeps the case. I laughed but in the end a diamond is just a stone, gold is just a metal, money is just paper and metal, land is just dirt and buildings just a conglomerate of materials. Fame is just the attention of people. It can all be lost so easily – ask Job.
So my emphasis in life must not merely be on the accumulation of wealth. That’s useless. 1 Timothy 6:7 (NLT) “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NLT) says “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” Solomon wrote that. He ought to know. He was the wealthiest man around at the time.
Luke 12:21 (NLT) says “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Without a relationship with God I am not truly able to make the right use of my time, treasure or talent.
How am I expected to live without a superfund? You’ve missed the point. Jesus is asking you to live without a super fund. He’s asking that you use money in the way God intends.
God bless you Church as you are so heavenly minded that you will bring heaven’s way of using our resources down to the practicalities of living on earth.
Pastor Ross
