Word of Salvation – Vol. 47 No.13 – April 2002

 

A Matter of Priorities

 

Sermon by Rev J Haverland on Matthew 6:19-24

Scripture Readings: 1 Timothy 6:3-21; Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, 17-26

 

Theme: Our life must be focussed on serving God and laying up treasure in heaven, not on earth.

Purpose: To urge you to make serving God and treasures in heaven a priority.

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sometimes children complain that they don't have enough time to play: "I have too much homework and I have to do too many jobs at home and I never have time for any fun!"  I'm sure most of you children have complained like this at some time.  And most parents have heard that sort of complaint.

But, children, your mum or dad will often point out that you did have time to watch TV for a while, and you did spend time on the Playstation and on that computer game, and you did have time to talk to your friend on the phone for half an hour.  So the problem is not so much a lack of time as a matter of priorities.

That's what the sermon today is about.  We could put that as a question: What is your priority?  What is most important to you?  What is your life focussed on?  What do you concentrate on?  In these verses Jesus urges us to focus our lives on God and His kingdom and on treasures in heaven, not on ourselves and building up treasures on earth.

Let us just consider the context.  This is a new section because here Jesus is describing the Christian in the world.  The first half of Chapter 6 describes the private life of the Christian – how we should give to those in need, pray and fast, but doing these things quietly and privately, before God.

Now, in verse 19, the Lord is beginning to deal with the public life of the Christian -- the Christian in the world – your relationship to money, wealth, possessions, food, drink and clothing.

The world, which is the whole system of unbelieving thought and practice, puts a lot of pressure on us in these areas – there are great temptations here.  That's why it is so important to have a strong private life with God; to be regular in the disciplines of giving, prayer, fasting.  This will give you the strength you need to face the world.

Because the world is so attractive, Jesus urges us to keep our eye on the kingdom of God, not on the kingdom of this world.  He gives us three illustrations of this that each deal with a contrast.  There is a contrast between: Two Banks, Two Eyes, and Two Masters.

1.  TWO BANKS

Jesus says you can either invest in treasures on earth, or treasures in heaven.  He warns against storing up treasures on earth.  These could be money, wealth or shares.  It could be your possessions like your house, cars, books, bikes or even your garden.  It could also be things like success, position, fame, honour, prestige and status.

Not that any of these things are wrong in themselves, but they can come to dominate your life.  This is why Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”  This is the command.  Then he gives the reason for this – an explanation: “...where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal” (vs.19b).

What you own can disappear in three ways.

First, your clothing could be destroyed by moths.

Second, what you own can rust.  The Greek word literally means, “to eat away”.  It's probably a picture of rats and mice and worms eating away at a store of grain and wheat.

Or third, thieves could break in and steal.  The word literally means, “to dig through”.  Because homes in those days were only made of mud brick, a thief could dig through the wall and take out what he wanted.

Nowadays we can prevent some of these losses with mothballs and mousetraps and rat poison and burglar alarms.  But we also recognise that nothing lasts forever.  Everything will decay or deteriorate or depreciate.  Nothing is permanent.  Anything and everything can be destroyed by fire or flood or earthquake.  Our wealth can decline dramatically in a stock market crash or in galloping inflation.  This is what Jesus wants us to keep in mind.

Does this mean that Jesus is forbidding any wealth at all?  No, it doesn't mean that.  There are other commands in the Bible which assume the right to own property.  The proverbs also urge us to learn from the example of the ant and plan and prepare for the future (Prov.6:6-8).  And we are commanded to look after our immediate family (1Tim.5:8) and we need money and resources to do that.  Furthermore, we are also allowed to enjoy the good gifts of God's creation (1Tim.4:3-4, 6:17).

What does Jesus mean, then?  Jesus is saying that it is a matter of priorities.  Where is your focus?  In what are you trusting?  Where are you building your treasure – on earth or in heaven?  This is a temptation for those who have a lot and for those who have only a little.  It's not a question of how much you own.  Rather, the question is, where is your heart?  What is your attitude to what you have?

The focus of your heart will determine the overall direction of your life.  What you treasure will govern your life.  So if you are focussed on money, you will become greedy for more.  If you are focussed on pleasure you will live a life of luxury and self-indulgence.  If you are seeking honour and success you will be governed by selfish ambition.

So, where is your heart?  What are your priorities?  What are you focussed on?

If you are focussed on money and wealth and things, you need to remember that you can't take it with you.  A Spanish proverb says, “There are no pockets in a shroud."  Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will depart” (Job 1:21).  And Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, confessed that all the world's wealth is ultimately vain, empty, a vapour.  It cannot make you happy.

So, "Do not store up treasures on earth".  Don't focus on the banks in the world.  Rather, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."

Here Jesus is referring to anything on earth that lasts into eternity.  This includes: investing in a Christ-like character.  Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit.  Putting money into the work of mission and evangelism and witness.  Supporting the work of the church and its ministry of mercy.  Directing our money into areas that are going to prosper the church and kingdom of Jesus.

Treasures in heaven also include the good deeds we do for others that are done with the right motive.  It includes sharing with those in need, forgiving others, showing them love in practical ways.  All of these are spiritual investments that build up an eternal treasure in heaven.

In the time of the early church, there was a period when Christians were being persecuted in Rome.  During that time, Roman soldiers broke into a Christian church because they thought the church stored up lots of treasures.  The Roman official demanded to know where all the treasures were kept.  But the church deacon pointed to the widows who were sheltered, the orphans who were fed, the sick who were nursed and the poor who were helped.  “These," he said, "are the treasures of the church."  In this they were following the instruction of the Apostle Paul, who commanded us "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1Tim.6:18-19)

Where are you investing your money?  Are you building up investments that will last into eternity?  Are you giving regularly to the work of the church, to the kingdom of Christ, for the work of the gospel?  Are you putting your money only into an earthly bank, or also into a heavenly bank?  There are two banks.

2.  There are also TWO EYES

In verses 22-23, Jesus is still talking about priorities, about having a focus on the kingdom of God.  But the picture changes from that of banks to that of our eyes.  “The eye is the lamp of the body.”  Jesus pictures the body like a room with a window.  Just as the window lets light into the room, so, too, the eye lets light into the body.  If the window is clear, then it lets in a lot of light, but if the window is dirty, the room will be dark.  So too, with us.  If your eye is clear, then you have a life full of light, but if your eye is dark, then your whole life will be full of darkness.

Again, Jesus is talking about the focus of your life.  If you keep your eye on the Lord, then you will have a clear direction.  If you follow the Lord Jesus, then you will walk in the light – you will know where you are going – your life will be full of light.  But if you don't keep your eye on the Lord, then you will lack direction – you will be aimless, a wanderer, all over the place.  You will live and walk in the darkness – you won't be able to see where you are going.

When people play sports, the coach tells them, "Keep your eye on the ball!  Watch that ball!”  As a Christian you need to keep your eye on the Lord Jesus – keep your eye on Him.  Don't let Him out of your sight.  Follow Him.  Walk in His ways.  Live in the light.  In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness".  That must be the focus.  That must be the goal.

There's a phrase that says: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!"  What is the main thing for you?  Is it the kingdom of God?  Are you aiming to serve Him?  Are you keeping that as the main thing?  Is that your highest priority?  Not to lay up treasures on earth, but to invest in heaven.  Keep your eye on that and your life will be full of light!  It is a matter of priorities: Two Banks, Two Eyes, and thirdly:

3.  TWO MASTERS

Jesus describes two masters, but He tells us that a person must make a choice between them: "No one can serve two masters."  That was easier to understand then than it is now.  The word for 'serve', means to serve as a slave.  A slave had no rights of his own – he was the living tool of his master.  And a slave had no time of his own – he was at the disposal of his master 24 hours a day.  And the word for 'master is the word 'lord'.  A lord or master had total ownership of his slave.  He could do what he liked with him.  He had an absolute claim on him and total control over him.

Today we know of people who have two jobs or who have two employers -- they are very busy people and they can often manage that for a time.  But that wasn't possible in the ancient world.  You had one master – no one could serve two masters because serving one was a full-time occupation – that was your life.

Jesus says, “You cannot serve both God and money".  The Greek word is 'mammon'.  It refers to something a man trusts in and was even regarded as a god.  Many people trust in their wealth, in their money, in their bank balance.  Jesus says, you cannot trust God and your money – that’s impossible.

Some people try:

• They want to serve God on Sundays and mammon the rest of the week.
• They serve God with their lips and mammon with their hearts.
• They serve God in appearance and mammon in reality.
• They try to serve God half the time and mammon the other half.

Jesus says you cannot do that.  It's one or the other.  You can't have a dollar both ways - you can't sit on the fence.  You must make a decision.

Jesus says, “Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (vs.24).  Jesus is putting this as an extreme contrast to make the point.  What He is emphasising again is the matter of priorities.  You must be devoted to God, not to money.

Being a Christian means living for the Lord one hundred percent.  You must be a slave of the Lord Jesus.  There is no time off from that; no half measures; no time when you can relax your standards.

So, if you are thinking about becoming a follower of Jesus, you must be ready for this.  It is a life of total service.  No compromise.  So count the cost.  And if you are a follower of Jesus, this is how you must live.  This must be your focus.  You must be living for Jesus.  You must seek His kingdom.

Don't waste your time storing up treasures on earth where they will be eaten away - but store up treasures in heaven, in the kingdom of God.  Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus.  And serve God as Lord and as Master.  It's all a matter of priorities!

Amen.