Matthew 6:19-24
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

1. What is Jesus exposing and correcting when he exhorts us to discern between two types of treasures?

Notice Jesus does not go on to prescribe a specific list of treasures. “Treasures” simply mean “what we value most”. With the things we value most, we will always do this: We will always find a place to save them for our own enjoyment or hoard them for our own security.

Whether we watch a dog digging a hole for its bone. Or a child hiding his toys from his friends. Or us hiding secrets from our siblings. Or colleaques keeping knowledge to get ahead. In all of these, we are witnessing the same phenomenon: our “treasures” have a wicked way of squirming their way to corrupt our hearts.

In my university days, which was decades before virtual technology, students had to physically go to the central library to borrow “reserved books or articles” set by lecturers. There was a limit of two hours per student to read or photocopy these reserved resources.

Ever so often, however, we would discover to our horror that whole pages of a recommended good book or seminal article – usually the key summary paragraphs – would be ripped off or scribbled over beyond readability!

Was this exam venting or wanton vandalism? Or, more accurately, was this academic jealousy exposing our very selfish treasures which seeks to prosper self and beggar neighbor? Does that describe our hearts?

Little wonder, Jesus teaches us to stop storing up material treasures here on earth.

What are Jesus’ reasons against our hoarding of hyped-up and over-valued earthly treasures?

He gives two examples – “where moth and rust destroy” and “thieves steal”.

Jesus’ lesson from moths is this: Decay of our material possessions is a certain thing! It is not whether but when and how badly the decay will be. Material science engineers might disagree but the spiritual point is clear!

Jesus then adds the imagery of theft. If our material possessions are not lost to decay, they could be lost by theft. In short, all our earthly acquisitions are temporal and fleeting.

2. Enduring Gospel Lessons about Treasures

A) Sort out Durability vs Futility

Jesus’ argument is not about the durability of material things.

Rather, Jesus warns us about the futility of greed as a lifestyle. This is the futility of a life mindlessly based on and selfishly lived for material things.

If we base our life on stuff, we will be stuffed up!

For if we base our lives on what will surely decay and be lost, we are losers twice over.

We firstly lose when we waste so much time acquiring stuff. Then, we will ultimately be losers when we lose what we have acquired!

B) Sort out Absence and Abhorrence

There are Bible passages that tell us how good and Godly it is for us to work, eat and provide materially for ourselves, our families and our neighbors (Ephesians 4:29; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).

So, the mark of a true disciple is not absence of material things but an abhorrence of materialism.

Materialism is when our life degenerates into a series of accumulations. When we are only as happy and secure as our latest buy.

Is that what you have degenerated to?

C) Sort out your “No”

Jesus’ disciples must say “no” to fleeting earthly treasures! Jesus’ people are to say “no” to greed as a lifegoal. Disciples must wean our hearts and make a decisive break.

What must we be weaned from? From the whole mindless “people are measured by their possessions or position” mindset.

What decisive break do we need to embark on? From the “one with the most toys wins” approach to life.

Every character – from Herod, the rich young ruler to Pilate – who was initially curious but finally rejected the good news of salvation by grace because they could not say “no” to the power of the world’s mantra that asserts “possessions, position or power maketh the man”.

D) Sort out your “Yes”

If we say “no” to greed as a lifegoal, what do Jesus people say “yes” to?

We say “yes” to new treasures in heaven. Reason? Heavenly treasures are impervious to moth, rust and thieves!

Jesus’ reason is simple: Our new treasures in heaven will not decay and will not be lost. Seek these new treasures!

Jesus then uses two images – of two eyes and two masters – to explain the two treasures.

Lessons from the eye (6:22-23)? Whatever we do not know about the eye, we all know “our eyes are the entry point to our body”.

If you have “good or healthy eyes”, then body will not be distracted and misled.

But, if we have unhealthy eyes which keep staring at the wrong objects, our lives will be distracted and destroyed.

Our visual obsession will soon morph into our deceitful heart’s obsession.

If our eye is diseased by focussing on greed – then our body or life will be directed by that greed. Worst still, if “the light within us is darkness, how great the darkness”.

Meaning if we convince ourselves that our “diseased eyes are healthy eyes”, then we will suffer blinding spiritual delusion.

Do we have healthy or diseased eyes? We can only answer that by honestly this question:

“What are we allowing our eyes to look upon each day?

If we spend most of our time staring at “stuff” – from the latest gadgets to the latest craze from social media or our friends – our lives will be increasingly directed in that diseased way.

However, if we look at God’s Word to look upon Jesus for his saving love and his kingdom values – our lives will be directed in that healthy way.

E) Sort out your “isms”

It is good to realise that materialism is a subset of secularism – the ejecting of God from our lives. Consequently, secularism is a subset of humanism – the replacing of God by ourselves.

They are all expressions of our slavery to the illegitimate master called idolatry!

In the final analysis, it is not what we do with money that matters but it is what money does to us that matters.

Money reduces human beings to materialistic beings. Money commodifies people into possessions. Money cheapens relationships into rewards. Why? Because we have swapped God for Mammon.

That’s what Judas did to Jesus for a bag of coins when his rabbi kept falling short of his great expectations of the glory of Messiahship.

Jesus warns his disciples then and us now not merely of the incompatibility but the impossibility of serving God and Mammon.

We do well to listen to Jesus daily to sort out our devotion to God or Mammon. It is matter of eternal life or eternal death.

PRAYER

O God, save me from the futility of a life mindlessly based on greed and selfishly lived for material things. Help me to say “No” to greed. I repent of pursuing selfish treasures which seeks to prosper self and beggar neighbor. Help me to confess daily: “For where my treasure is, there my heart will be also.”

Warn me that my visual obsession will soon morph into my deceitful heart’s obsession. Stop me from convincing myself that my “diseased eyes are healthy eyes”. Save me from blinding spiritual delusion. Grant me a vision of how beautiful and sufficient Jesus is to me. Now and forever more. Amen”.