Meditation June 6, 2020 Matthew 6
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Do not treasure up for y0urselves treasures that fit the earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieve break in and steal.
Jesus has declared the laws, if we may call them that, of the relationship believers are to have with other men and the relationship they are to have with God. Because believers are of the character he describes in the beatitudes, we may judge ourselves by our behavior whether or not we are truly believers as well as measure the progress of our sanctification as believers. And thus, discover where we need repentance and improvement.
Jesus now turns our attention to understand the attitude we should have as believers toward things of this present world in which we live.
He first gives us the negative. DO NOT store up for yourselves earthly treasures, treasure treasures that serve no other purpose than living lavishly between the cradle and the grave. "(F)or yourselves!" is the phrase that gets immediately to the heart of the problem Jesus is addressing. And we do not need to say much about that. We all understand what he means. Even the ungodly, though they would disagree with it being a negative, understand exactly what Jesus meant by “storing up for yourselves.” The problem for believers is that when we set our mind and efforts to accumulating solely for the self, we begin to neglect the orphan, the widow, the needy and we begin to place our confidence in our possessions. Possessions become an idol, that to which we look for security and where we place out dependence. We take no thought for tomorrow not because God holds tomorrow but because we have provided for ourselves for tomorrow, because we have treasured up treasures for tomorrow. You remember the story of the man who filled his barns with grain and said, ‘Now I have provided for myself, I will retire and live in ease.’ And the Lord said, ‘You fool. You do not know that tonight your soul will be required of you.’ (Lk. 12:20) Jesus is not giving a mandate against providing for a time when because of ate or circumstance you are unable to continue working. He is not saying we should not have a retirement plan. His is simply saying the goal of our life should not be to put aside wealth for the sole purpose of arriving at a point when we can live a live of ease. Paul exhorts in 1 Cor. 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” If we lay up treasure with that end in view, then we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.
Jesus is dealing with attitudes, sins of the heart and the laying up of treasures on earth has to do with putting our confidence in that which we have provided for ourselves rather than putting our confidence in God.; it is in finding our joy, our purpose, our comfort in things. One of my least appreciated bumper stickers, one that thankfully is not seen much anymore, was the one that said, “The one with the most toys wins.” That is exactly what Jesus is teaching against here. Where you lay up your treasures, whether on earth or in heaven, reveals where your faith lies.
I especially like what Ironside had to say in regard to this; i.e. “All treasures are held in subjection to God and used as He directs. He who is I touch with eternal realities can well afford to hold earthly possessions with a loose hand.”
We have no choice but to deal with the things of the world in which we live. We need food and clothing and places to live. We not only need them but we the pro-life law; i.e., you shall not kill, commands us to provide for ourselves and, as needed to the extent we can do so, provide for others those things which enhance, promote and protect life. The opposite extreme that some go to of disregarding all earthly possession may well be no less sin than hoarding earthly possession. They are given to us by God to be used for His glory in the ways he has indicated. And that is the thing Jesus is teaching. Wealth, possessions and the obtaining of them are to be motivated and guided by spiritual considerations. Worldly possessions we must have but if all our efforts and thoughts are going to what we will eat or what we will drink or with what we will clothe ourselves we are going in the opposite direction from what Jesus is teaching here. The point is that we are to labor for the things needed without being anxious over them or coveting them but realizing God has promised to care for us by rewarding the work of our hands. Johnnie B. liked to tell the tale (I think he made up this one himself) of two farmers who went to their fields in the Spring to plant. One hitched up his mule and went to plowing saying, “Lord give me and this old mule strength to plow this ground again.” The other man went to his field sat down in the corner by his fence with a handful of seeds and said, “Lord, I’m old and my body is weary. Please send the birds to plant these seeds.” In the Fall the first farmer went to check on his neighbor he hadn’t seen in a while and found nothing but bones in the
As in Luke 12:33 where Jesus say to sell you possession and give to the poor, he does not mean to impoverish yourself, as some insanely would have us believe, in order that you too may become poor. Jesus does not utter oxymorons. It is not just the privilege but the duty of believers to labor to make provision not only for himself and his family but for those who cannot (not will not) provide for themselves. To live well is not sin. There is no magic number that says you may keep this much and more than that is I sin. Believers are to live modestly, frugally, with restraint so that they may provide for their family and if possible leave an inheritance (Pro 13:22) but there is no requirement we should live as paupers. However, to live with overabundance, to lay up treasure to satisfy the longings of the flesh when others are in need is to lay up treasures on earth. This is that Jesus says we ought not do.
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