A Community of Clear Priorities
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
At first glance, this set of verses looks like a pretty significant departure from the first part of Matthew 6. Jesus has been teaching about how we practice our devotion to God, especially through the three disciplines of giving, praying and fasting. Suddenly in verse 19 Jesus seems to completely change directions, and now he’s talking about money.
But if we look a little closer, Jesus is continuing in the same train of thought. Earlier in Matthew 6, Jesus said that if when you give in a way that draws attention to your generosity, you are just doing it impress other people. In such case, he said, you have your reward. You have given money, but really you have only laid up treasure on earth that was for your reputation. "Storing up treasure in heaven" is just another way of talking about living to please your Father in heaven. Just like Jesus exhorted us to seek the reward of our Father in heaven through prayer, giving and fasting, Jesus now calls us to seek the reward of heavenly treasures, the attention and favor of God our Father. And we can do that with our money.
Jesus is calling his people to an entirely different approach to money and possessions. Money becomes destructive when we begin to see it as an end in itself, for which we give and devote our lives. In that case it becomes a rival god and robs God of our devotion. But money used as an instrument to carry out the work of God’s Kingdom, investing in those things that truly matter, is what ultimately builds what is lasting for this life and the life to come.
As you prepare for worship this week, consider the following:
Jesus seems to be elevating money to a rival to God. Why do you think he does this? How does money offer to us many of the same things that God promises to give?
Can you think of a time in your life when you were captive to money, either because you worried about losing it, feared not having it, or if it led you to compromise your values?
How does a person become free of enslavement to money?
How might your family or Parish Group use resources in a way that invests in heavenly treasures?
Matthew 6:19-24
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin 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 healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, 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 you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”