Jesus taught about good works and giving. “Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing. Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Matthew 6:19-21 instructs, Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them. And thieves can break into your house and steal them. Instead, save your treasures in heaven, where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Don't put your faith in stashing a lot of cash under your mattress or in your savings account. He is also referring to filling your closets with excessive amounts of clothing and shoes. The same can be said of a dozen fishing rods and tackle boxes stuffed with unused or rusting fishing lures.
With any treasure stored up there is always the risk of thieves stealing it. Or a fire, tornado, hurricane or flood sweeping it all away. Or how about what hyperinflation can do to erase your hard earned savings?
Prior to WWII, Germany was a very prosperous country. There, in 1922, a loaf of bread cost only 160 deutsche mark. In September of 1923 that same loaf of bread cost 1.5 million marks. It got so bad—people literally used a wheelbarrow to go to the grocery store, if and when there were foodstuffs on the shelf's.
Back in 1922, a wealthy German could buy an ounce of gold for 30,000 deutsche marks. One year later, the same quantity of gold cost 269,439,000 marks. Seems the rich were affected by the hyperinflation. Not so much today, I think. Do you think our excessively rich congressional representatives, with their private jets and body guards paid for with our tax dollars care if gas at the pump goes to nine or ten dollars? No. Do the ultra-rich care if it costs the average northerner $1,500 to $2,500 to fill up their heating oil tank? No!
When Jesus spoke of Treasures in Heaven, He did not warn you not to store up treasures. He did not say that it was evil to store up treasures for He instructed us to deposit them in a repository safer than any found in this natural world.
And the Lord is not against us gathering up some savings, or closet a few dresses and suits, but does anyone really need thirty pairs of shoes? Instead we should store up our treasures in God's heaven realm, so that our faith and trust can be rooted in something other than worldly possessions. The heavenly depository to store treasures that Jesus spoke about is far more safer, secure, and more reliable than any of our earthly methods or safeguards.
Webster's Dictionary defines heaven, in part, as The dwelling place of the Deity; the abode of bliss; the place or state of the blessed after death. Unto the God of love, high heaven's King.
So you might ask, “ How do we store up treasures in heaven, which is a place beyond our reach? Give to the poor and do for the poor. Those answers are simple to say but some folks find the execution of the acts excruciatingly difficult to engage.
Luke chapter twelve records the words of Jesus Christ expounding on the concept of storing up treasures in heaven.
Luke 12:33 says, Sell the things you have and give that money to those who need it. This is the only way you can keep your riches from being lost. You will be storing treasure in heaven that lasts forever. Thieves can’t steal the treasures you have given to the poor, moths can’t destroy it, corrosion won't tarnish it, nor can the winds and floods of mother nature remove them.
These words of Jesus in Luke are similar to a portion of the message Christ gave at the sermon on the Mount. When Jesus repeats we should pay careful attention to His instructions.
His message is clear and straightforward, we should take some of what we have and place it in the hands of the less fortunate. Give to those in need or to good, reliable charities working in the mission fields of our Lord and savior.
What you give does not have to be channeled through “The Church” nor have to be in the form of currency. Genesis 42:25 tells us Joseph told the servants to fill the bags with grain. The brothers had given Joseph the money for the grain, but he didn’t keep the money. He put the money in their bags of grain. Then he gave them what they would need for their trip back home.
Another “cheerful giver” was seen in 1 Samuel 25:18-44 where Abigail quickly gathered up 200 loaves of bread, two full wine bags, five cooked sheep, about a bushel of cooked grain, about 2 quarts of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She put them on donkeys to spirit the goods away to David's army.
Both of these examples were in-keeping with the words of Matthew 6:4, ERV, Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Who can better safeguard our funds, managers at the major banks that go more and more WOKE as time passes, or God Himself? How more secure could your treasures be than in heaven? The IRS can't place a lien on your heavenly rewards or confiscate them. In heaven, our riches are safe from the wrath of man and mother nature. Moreover, our treasures in heaven belong to us, unlike our tax dollars no illegals are going to be given our rewards by a corrupt government.
But wait a minute! If the crooks, thieves, and IRS cannot get at our treasures, how do we get to them? Isn’t that out of our reach as well? How do we access it to use? Must we die to see the benefits?
We all have heard, “The Kingdom Provides.” That's correct. What we need is provided by God while we are still here on earth.
When we lack spiritual strength, have serious monetary shortfalls, or lack even our everyday sustenance of food, the Lord somehow, provides. Sometimes our issued resupply is meager and sometimes our blessings are extremely abundant. But our heavenly treasures await the day of our resurrection.
Paul the apostle spoke of this heavenly treasure in Philippians chapter four. Here are verses 15-20 from the ERV: Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do. But it was good that you helped me when I needed help. You people in Philippi remember when I first told the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help. Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica. Really, it is not that I want to get gifts from you. But I want you to have the benefit that comes from giving. I have everything I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him. My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. Glory to our God and Father forever and ever. Amen.
Paul is glorifying the Philippians for they were the only ones who gave help to him in the beginning of his ministry. He was thanking them for providing for his needs. Going on, he specified; it is not that I want to get gifts from you, nor desire for you to give to me, but rather I desire that My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need.
Both rewards and treasures in heaven are mentioned multiple times in the Bible. After getting to stay in heaven or on the New Earth isn't that a glorious reward in and of itself. Are more honorariums or pleasurable reinforcements necessary? Isn't just being with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in heaven enough? Experiencing the glory and the joys of heaven will be so marvelous, it’s difficult to imagine why additional compensation is needed. Furthermore, as our faith and good Christian deeds are founded on the righteousness of Christ, rather than our own works, why are we gathering rewards down here for enjoyment up there? Why, because the Bible tells by 1 Corinthians 15:58: So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
Paul said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The sin and derogatory blemishes of our lives are concealed by the grace of Christ. We die with His name in our final prayer and we are “re-born” with Him to share in His joy. In heaven we will dwell with Him (John 14:1–3). Our lives are inextricably linked with Christ’s because Jesus did and does as Jesus said and says. Jesus shares His rewards with us. The bountifulness He receives is shared with all of us: “If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for his people. He will give us all that he has given Christ. But we must suffer like Christ suffered. Then we will be able to share his glory” (Romans 8:17).
Yes, the good that we do on earth is annotated above, but our heavenly rewards flow from the goodness and powers of God. Through Christ’s resurrection we gain an inheritance in heaven; on earth our faith is tested and results in praise and glory and honor when Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:3–9). The things we do in this life are absolutely non-permanent and will not be carried forward with us into heaven unless the things we do are built on Christ's founding principles.
The rewards to be gained in heaven are unlike the rewards we see on earth. Here, we tend to think in material terms—riches, jewels, etc. But these things are merely unfulfilling shadows of the true rewards heaped upon us in heaven. A child who wins a church spelling bee—treasures the trophy not for the value of the trophy itself but for what that trophy represents. Likewise, any rewards or laurels we receive in heaven will be precious to us because they fulfilled the promise of our relationship with God, and remind us of the good works He accomplished through us on earth. It may be hard to understand, but our rewards in heaven are to the glory of God, not us. Which is not to say, our days in heaven will be diminished in any way. Our time will be immersed in joy, peace, and wonder and we may be allowed to reflect on the good works accomplished in His name—through us.
The closer one is to God during this life, the more centered on Him, the more there will be to celebrate on meeting our maker. Though inherently sinful, we are aware of Him, dependent on Him, and desperate for His mercy for can accomplish nothing without Him. These fearsome factors cause some to experience doubt, emotional stress, and frightful wondering if they will ever really—really get to see Him and have their heart’s desires fulfilled.
But for those of us who share that peaceful rest in the knowledge that we are forever sheltered in His loving arms, live now and forever in blissful happiness and everlasting peace. For the treasures we will enjoy in heaven will be the completion of our inheritance. Those rewards will be eternally satisfying.
Notice that Paul previously said that God, through Jesus Christ, provided all he needed—not the Philippians. Ephesians 3:20 reinforces this by saying, “With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.
Nothing that we can ask or think of is beyond the power and glory of God! The Holy Spirit can empower us beyond the confining limits of our imaginations. The powers that can be working in us is the power of His anointing. That’s why Paul said that God will provide all your needs according to His riches in glory, or in heaven, by Christ Jesus. What a promise that can not be negated by man or demon.
Our faith must be heartfelt and true. Matthew 6:21 relates, “Your heart will be where your treasure is.” This also has to do with where and on who our faith is placed. Is our faith for provision in earthly things or in heavenly things? If our treasure is in heaven, our faith is in heavenly things, heavenly provisions.
Romans 10:10 “Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved.” When a man or woman believes with their heart, that is a reflection of a true believer. Faith can fill all of your heart, and thus fulfilled there is little, if any, room for sin. If our treasure is laid up in God's glorious heaven, that’s where our heart will be.
Our faith, our trust, will be in the ability of that heavenly kindness to furnish all fulfillment of our needs. Our hearts will not beat in a false sense of security gained by having tons of treasure stored up but in the infallible security of the enduring riches we have laid up in heaven.
But the most pertinent, centralized point that Jesus wanted us to understand was: It is not all about us and what rewards we will receive. For we will fall shy of the mark if we don't give and do for others as Jesus did and does.
Matthew 5:42-44, Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you. Love Your Enemies. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.
Often, far too often, it seems against human nature to give something of our own to someone else. Even if we have an abundance for ourselves, family, and friends. And how often do we think vile thoughts of those that treat us badly? Yet it can be easily proven from the Bible that giving generously and forgiving those who trespass against us are two of the many touchstones Christian should employ for “doing good” which is the basis of our prosperity. Here and above!
Yes, those that scatter kindness and wealth will see increases a hundred fold. Proverbs 11:24 says, Some people give freely and gain more; others refuse to give and end up with less. Verse 11:25 states, Give freely, and you will profit. Help others, and you will gain more for yourself.
This speaks of one who scatters what he or she has, helping others less fortunate, and yet individual wealth increases. That formula is hard for some folks to comprehend, isn't it? And Satan is gleeful that some people keep the coins for themselves—but miserly actions lead to poverty.
Wow! Truth be told, many people have had this backwards their whole lives. But sharing is indeed the way Christ wants us to act. When we give to help others we will see an increase of fortune and joy. Now this increase may not be an immediate uptick in our bank account, that may come later, but what really counts is the joy we spread and receive. Conversely, if we hoard up our money to hold in reserve, we grow poorer here on earth, and limit our blessing in heaven. What we give to others in need finds its way back to bring happiness to swell our hearts. Just as Ecclesiastes 11:1 foretells our future fortunes, “Do good wherever you go. After a while, the good you do will come back to you.” That's the truth the Bible speaks to us and the Word of God is an everlasting truth!
Proverbs tells us the ones who give generously will never lack, chapter 28, verse 27 quotes, Whoever gives to the poor will have plenty. Whoever refuses to help them will get nothing but curses. Possibly, the next verse, verse 28 is more attuned to our times. “When the wicked rise to power, everyone hides. When they are defeated, good people multiply.” Think how our nation's population and prosperity could have increased if a certain political party had not been proud of the fact that from 1973 to 2021 approximately 65,000,000 babies lost their entire lives because they were aborted. That number doesn't include the democrat controlled states, California, Maryland, and New Hampshire, which decline to report the number of babies deliberately killed by doctors.
Those who give to the poor shall not lack in this life. That’s a Bible promise. But he who hides his eyes from the needy shall endure many curses of the similar measure.
Jesus made another statement concerning giving in Luke 6:38 which states, “Give to others, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” In other words, when we give, whatever measurement we supply to others, a greater measure will be returned to us.
In giving of our time, our self, or our money, we are breaking the devil's bond of covetousness. Could that be one of the reasons there are so many biblical scriptures relating to how giving will cause us to be blessed? Why is God Himself telling us to be givers? To bless and help the needy is the answer.
The Holy Spirit will help overcome those desires in people to keep for themselves all that they work for or inherit, which seems to be the natural inclination of many folks. So Jesus wants us to know—when people give to others in need—the donating person will be rewarded for all acts of kindness. By providing assistance to others, the result will be greater blessings for us in return.
Never think that Jesus is trying to motivate us by appealing to our greed. No, indeed He doesn't. He is trying to mold our mindset towards self-determined generosity to help the needy. He is trying to encourage our correct understanding about how Christians prosper, how our lives and others will actually work out.
The world wants us to believe, over time we will accumulate wealth, to become well off, so to speak, only if we work excessively to earn all we possibly can. Once earned, then we should store it all up because we can only depend on ourselves. That worldly-view is an incorrect mindset, even though many people do accumulate wealth and possessions that way. I'm not saying that way is the work of the devil, but that is not the Christian way.
Following the edicts coming down from the kingdom of God, we find and understand that spiritual and monetary growth comes by sowing what we have and helping others who are not as fortunate.
There are blessings in tithing. Genesis 14:18-20 speaks to the first tithe made by Abraham to Melchizedek and Genesis 28:20-22 reveals Jacob's promise of a tithe to the Lord.
The first command that explained all tithes are the Lord's is found in Leviticus 27:30-32, (NKJV) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.
To pass along what I believe to be the correct message on tithing, I had to depart away from the Easy-to-read-version. The ERV translated the same verses as: 30 “A tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord. This means the crops from fields and the fruit from trees—a tenth belongs to the Lord. 31 So if you want to get back your tenth, you must add one-fifth to its price and then buy it back. 32 “The priests will take every tenth animal from a person’s cattle or sheep. Every tenth animal will belong to the Lord.
Do you read what I read there in the ERV and find any fault with that translation? Verse 32 of the ERV has the priest taking. Tithes are given willingly, not taken. Furthermore, while I'm rambling on with my opinion; tithes to and for the Lord do not have to be routed through the priesthood, the Pope, or the Holy Church. Offering a portion of your riches to honest, duly diligent charities qualifies as tithing and giving to needy.
A Christ-like financial strategy is not to stash up our gains, but to distribute some to the needy. Those are acts like casting our bread upon the water and have unintended results of growing our future blessings. Good stewardship is Christ's way.
This information on these expected or unexpected rewards and blessings are well documented—scripturally. Sometimes the rewards are not what you expect. For example, Noah was such a godly person and good family man God rewarded him with 125 years of hard labor building the ark. “Wait a minute,” you might say, “that doesn't sound like a blessing?” Well, is it not true, he and his family got to live while all others perished. That's a reward in my book.
If you had to provide, one-overall word to encompass good deeds, caring for your fellow humans, Christian giving, living piously, plus tithing to the Lord God your prayers, time, wealth, and worship—what might that word be? I offer “stewardship.” Do you agree? But before we can speak of any stewardship responsibilities, we need to acknowledge our position in God's hierarchy.
It doesn't add to or diminish your responsibilities to God if you are the CEO of a multinational conglomerate, or a hospital nurse, or a movie star or one of the volunteer Candy-strippers who empties bed pans. Or maybe you find yourself in the same, wonderful position I am in—retired. No matter what your title is, you must consider yourself a “Middle-Manager,” with very important, highly responsible, functions to perform. You are God's emissary.
Imagine, of all that God gives you—He expects you to supervise and share.
Next, let’s examine your title of “steward.” Among the general population, its usage has declined since the early 1900s. Nowadays it is mostly used to refer to a flight attendant or cruise ship cabin attendant. The Bible, however, instructs us to be a good steward, acting as forthright servants overseeing the assets God has placed in our position.
Jesus himself asked by saying, “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? When the master comes and finds him doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant!” In other words, a good steward is a servant who is mindful that Jesus will return anytime. It’s the person who behaves like a good or bad servant will be held accountable for his care of others.
In the “parable of the talents” as read in Matthew and Luke, Jesus identifies the attributes of good stewardship. In these stories, three stewards each receive an allotment of money to manage on behalf of the owner. Two stewards invested their talents wisely and substantially increased what they were given. Thus, to each the owner replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
In Jesus’ day, a talent was equivalent to about 6,000 denarii. A single biblical talent was worth enough money that a person who owned it would be considered rich. If an average worker earned a denarius a day it would take some 20 years or hard labor just to earn a single talent. Ten thousand talents was an astronomical amount of money for the common man, and if owed, a seemingly unpayable debt. Which brings us back to the third slave or servant.
The third servant, or middle-money-manager, fearfully dug a hole and went about his timid life. He disregarded his job to properly care for and increase the owner’s money. When the owner returned, this servant could only dig up the single silver coin and hand it over.
To this man, the owner declared, “You wicked and slothful servant!” Most likely, a few other detrimental proclamations were strewn about. Then the bad steward had what was given to him taken away and given to the better, most diligent steward. Then the bad steward was thrown out. Some scholars say that the result of this parable equated to the third man being thrown out of God's grace, or permanently denied entrance to heaven.
While most scholars say, “We have been entrusted with the treasures of the gospel, faith, and authority in the spiritual realm for God wants us to build up and increase what He and the Holy Spirit have blessed us with. We should also understand from these parables that we are to act like good hard-working, take charge stewards and work to increase the blessings He has provided us.
The story of the good steward foretells the day of Jesus’ return to judge and usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. What we are called to do is commit to care for those in need, make disciples of all nations, and increase God’s kingdom for the triumphant return of Jesus Christ.
Any good steward of God is always mindful that he or she works for God. God is the owner of everything. “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD” so says Psalm 24:1.
As “good managers” we are called upon to seek out unbelievers and share stories and examples of the grace of God.” As believers, our action or inaction gleans eternal consequences. The way we live and what we say should honor God’s image.
Good stewards take care of the gifts God has given them to manage, knowing we will be held accountable. Have we been good stewards of the things of earth—such as our earning or social security entitlements? Have we shown good stewardship of our time spent in prayers and worship. Have we explored needs outside the church and searched the community for persons in need? Biblical stewardship means being a caretaker of the children and adults in God’s kingdom.
As Peter said, in 1 Peter 4:10-11, God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other. If your gift is speaking, your words should be like words from God. If your gift is serving, you should serve with the strength that God gives. Then it is God who will be praised in everything through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
The End.
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