December 25, 2024

Matthew 6:19-24  (HCSB)
God and Possessions
19 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness! 24 “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.

Andrew Ivey
We are given two truths in this passage, and two commands. Truth #1 is verse 21 “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Truth #2 is verse 24 “No one can serve two masters.... You cannot serve God and wealth.” Jesus made these statements. They are true, regardless of your opinion. We must allow them to shape our perspective on wealth. Now for the commands. Command #1 is verse 19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth....” Command #2 is verse 20, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven....” While there are many churches that pay their pastors as if being called to ministry is a calling to be poor. I don’t believe that’s the case nor is it the case that being a Christian means you can’t have money. If we look at other passages of Scripture that teach us about money, we see that God does bless some of His followers with worldly wealth. So, how do we apply what we are reading in this passage? First, make the conscious decision that you are going to serve God, not money. That means while you may have a great investment strategy and budget, if God tells you to give in a budget busting way, you obey God rather than your financial plan. Another application is that we should focus on storing up treasure in heaven rather than accumulating worldly wealth. Don’t allow worldly wealth to become the end goal. Use money as a tool for God’s kingdom and His purposes. This is one of those things that we must keep recommitting to God, because as you gain wealth it pulls your heart toward it and away from God.