Don't Treasure Treasures

Can you believe that it has been 2 months since we have been in Matthew on a Sunday morning? In between we heard from Fred Thompson, we had our Advent series, we heard from our brother Frank, and we looked at our New Year theme. All that was excellent, and it is good to have a change now and then. But I am happy to be back in Matthew.

A little reminder of where we have been. In chapter 6, Jesus starts with this warning

Matthew 6:1 ESV

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Chapter 5 was all about true righteousness, and chapter 6 follows that theme, but with this caveat - true righteousness is always lived out before an audience of one. Beware of practicing your righteousness in order to be seen, or, for the purpose of being seen by others.

We saw that with giving, with prayer, and with fasting. Three things that, in that day, a devout Jew should have and would have been doing. And we can say, for our purpose, three things that followers of Jesus, should be and will be doing. But if we ever give, pray, or fast to be seen or heard by others, then we have all the reward we will ever get in our human recognition.

As I pondered back over what we have studied thus far in Matthew six, I would sum it up this way. While the implications of our righteousness are often man-ward, the focus of our righteousness is always God-ward. When we follow Jesus, we live righteously, people around us will see, will notice, and will benefit. When we live according to the truth of scripture, it will often result in a quantitatively better life and better relationships, but the goal is never simply the better life - the goal is always God. The goal is always His glory, His renown.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The text we come to this morning follows that same theme, that same line. With giving, prayer, and fasting, Jesus started his teaching with “when you give...” “when you pray...” “when you fast...”

Here, he changes his form of phrase, from a positive to a negative, to a very clear “do not do this...”

And what is it that we are not to do? We are not to “lay up for ourselves treasures on earth...”

This whole section really continues with the idea of the audience of one, and really addresses one of the principal failings of our culture, and perhaps any culture that is blessed with relative wealth and comfort - and that is the sin of materialism.

John Stott called it “the materialism which tethers our heart to the world.”

That is a fitting way to put it, because if we are learning that our focus is to be always God-ward, not man-ward, then that would imply that our focus should be God-ward rather than earth-ward as well. That is true with our giving, praying, and fasting, and it is certainly true with our treasure.

Now, we should say up front, that there is no condemnation here for being wealthy, and there is no condemnation in scripture for being wealthy. There are warnings for the wealthy, there are pitfalls to watch our for if you are wealthy, but the principle sin of the wealthy is not being or becoming wealthy in some form - it is in gaining or using that wealth in an unrighteous manner, and here specifically, it is making that wealth or the pursuit of that wealth your master.

The song that we sang just a few minutes ago sums it up well. “My worth is not in what I own, not in the strength of flesh and bone, but in the costly wounds of love at the cross.”

At the forefront, a great application is this - whether your lot in life is to be wealthy, comfortable, or poor, your value before God does not depend on your riches and treasure, but rather your value is based upon the supreme treasure which is Christ Himself. And that ties back perfectly to our passage from last week in lamentations, where Jeremiah said this:

Lamentations 3:24 ESV

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

So, keeping with that theme of “the audience of one,” our theme today will be the idea of “single” or “focused.” And here is the big picture as we study.

Our life does not consist in our treasures, but in our Lord. May we treasure and look with a single eye to our true Master.

1. A Single Treasure - Vs. 19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

“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. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The principle question of this sections is simple: what do you treasure?

It comes to us in that familiar form, we’ve all heard it a thousand times perhaps - “lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

I’ve titled the sermon for today, “don’t treasure treasures...” because that is the literal wording that Jesus used.

The word for “lay up” or “store up” is literally the same word as the one for “treasures.” One is used as a verb, one is used as a noun. Don’t treasure treasures. And the question, again, so simple, is what do we treasure?

One use of the word to “treasure” is to “pickle” or “preserve.” So the idea is that we are safeguarding these treasures, doing our best to protect them. They have high value, we want them to remain.

And perhaps to alter that a little bit to match the text, not simply what do you treasure, but where is your treasure?

Jesus has a way of asking revealing questions, doesn’t He? Where is your treasure?

And he asks that question after sort of tarnishing the value of our treasures with his vivid description of what happens.

Don’t treasure treasures on earth, where moth, rust, and thieves can make them valueless.

Moth - of course, we’re familiar with the idea of moths and what they do. We have things like moth balls, and cedar chests or cedar closets, to avoid the problem of moths eating or garments. And a garment was one of the supreme displays of wealth in Jesus’ world. That first impression is everything, right? If someone can see you from afar and notice your wealth by your appearance, you have done well for yourself - or so you think.

Yet that garment could easily be tattered and made dull by insects, insects who don’t care whether that garment is ornate or drab, and don’t care whether its owner is rich or poor.

The same goes for rust. You may have a different word in your translation, you might have “vermin” or “worms.” The word for rust is really the word for consumption. It was used for the consumption of metals by oxidization, and the consumption of material goods and stored up foods by insects rodents. Either way, the principle is the same as the motheaten garments.

Here in Vermont, we have wonderful road crews who help give us the best chance of traveling safely, but one of the major side effects of winter road maintenance is Salt, and salt brings rust. Rust doesn’t care whether your car was $10,000 or $50,000. Once that vehicle is a few years old and has had some winter miles on it, the rust begins.

What about vermin? Well, we can use a winter illustration for that as well. It’s cold in Vermont in the winter, if you haven’t noticed. And if you have any tiny little spot where a mouse or a squirrel can crawl in your basement or attic, they will come in. And if they find a food source, they will consume it. Again, they don’t care whether you live in a mansion or an old shed. Moths, Rust, and Mice are no respecters of wealth.

Moths eat, rust consumes, and thieves break in and steal. In all these cases, what was “treasured” is now made worthless. All the efforts in the world to treasure up treasures still leave us vulnerable.

You might say, “well my wealth is secure. It is held in reputable establishments, it is held in lands, in precious metals.” That may be true, but we are all one natural disaster from any and every form of wealth being made useless and worthless.

And beyond that, every treasure on earth is fading away. We can take all the care imaginable to protect our earthly treasures, but we cannot control how long we live.

We always take note when notable people pass away. Just recently two famous entertainers passed within a few days of each other. Betty white, the Golden Girl, at 99 years of age, and Bob Saget, “America’s Dad” from Full House, in his 60’s. Both of these people were well-known, well-loved, accomplished, talented, and probably secure as far as wealth and treasure go.

Both of these people’s wealth and fame was wrapped up in who they were - in their humor, in their personality, in their performances. Yet, neither one could secure that wealth beyond their last breath.

Treasure on earth will never benefit us beyond the earth. Denis read a section of Psalm 49 earlier, I want to read a few more verses.

Psalm 49:10–12 ESV

For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

Our lives here are temporary, and the most secure earthly treasure is temporary. The most celebrated and wealthy people alive have no better eternity because of their earthly treasure, and no amount of wealth can commend us to God on the last day.

Luke 12:16–21 ESV

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Perhaps Jesus had Psalm 49 in His mind as he taught that parable. I wouldn’t be surprised. Jesus uses the same terminology in Luke 12, the idea of “laying up” or “treasuring treasure.”

The alternative there is being “rich toward God.”

The alternative here is the same, although worded differently. It is “treasuring treasure in heaven.”

“in heaven” may as well be “in God.” Jewish authors often substituted “heaven” for God, as we already noticed with Matthew’s use of “kingdom of Heaven” where other writers use “Kingdom of God.”

So we are not to treasure earthly treasures, but we are to treasure Godly treasures. And what would that be?

Well, the qualifier is that Godly treasures, heavenly treasures, are not subject to moth, rust, and thieves. Nobody can ruin them, nobody can eat them, nobody can steal them.

These treasures are treasures of righteousness, treasures of relationship with God, things that we can take beyond the grave. These treasures are spiritual, lasting. Things like Joy, things like peace.

And what else? What else can go beyond the grave? What about souls? Souls of men and women are not earthly treasures, they are eternal as well.

Think of it this way, we ought to treasure what God treasures. Does God treasure this earth? Well, He created it and said it was good - but at the same time, one day He promises to destroy it and re-create it. So what good is it to ultimately treasure anything on this earth? May we treasure God, and what God treasures. May our hearts desire, and our satisfaction rest firmly and securely in God and what He treasures.

2. A Single Eye - Vs. 22-23

At first glance, it seems like Jesus is suddenly changing subjects, but he comes back to the idea of treasure or “mammon” in verse 24, so I believe He intended these themes to flow together.

What is this business about the eye, the single eye, the healthy eye - your translations may have it one of those ways.

Well lets get the image here.

Matthew 6:22–23 ESV

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The eye is the lamp of the body. What does a lamp do? It provides light. It makes sense in a simple way. The eye “lets the light in.” When you close your eyes, it is dark in your seeing. When you are blind, it is dark in your seeing. And what we “see” is one of the primary means of what we “know.”

“Light” is sometimes “knowledge” or “understanding.” So in the metaphor, which this clearly is, what we “see” or “look at” determines the outcome for the rest of our “body” or the rest of our lives.

“if your eye is healthy.” Again, some translations have “single” in stead of healthy, and that is a proper translation as well. What is a single eye? Does it mean you have plucked one out like the image back in chapter five for those tempted to lust?

Not at all. “single” is “focused” or “clear.” Does an unhealthy eye see clearly? Is its focus sharp and vivid? Not at all. That’s the very problem. An unhealthy eye has no sharp or clear focus, and perhaps no sight at all.

So a sharp focus, that is desirable, that is what is good for the rest of our “body” of for our life, as it were. Well let me ask this. I can’t say for certain whether Jesus had this in His mind, but I think it fits.

What happens when you try to focus on two things at once? Well, we either get distracted, or we go cross-eyed. And when we go cross-eyed, is our vision clear? No, it is blurred.

So the image is focus. The source of “light” for our lives depends upon what we focus on, what we look to. If that focus is healthy, then we have light for our lives. If it is blurred, we have confusion. If it is darkness, then we have darkness.

Now this ties directly in to the idea of laying up treasures, because we could say that what we treasure is what we focus on. What we look to, what we trust in, what we hope in. Is it our earthly treasure? Then our eye is unhealthy, our focus is blurred. Is it Godward and heavenly? Then our vision is clear, our eye is healthy.

What we look to, and what we trust in, are critical. If our goal is righteousness and peace and eternity, then what we stake our lives on must exhibit those things.

1 Timothy 6:17–19 ESV

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Paul could have taken these words right from the mouth of Jesus. Again, there is no condemnation for the rich, but a warning. A charge.

And the charge has to do with what they trust in. What they set their hope on. What they focus on.

And what is the goal? The goal is “that which is truly life.” So it is not “riches” that is truly life, it is a Godward focus, and that leads to righteousness. God who provides richly.

And notice also, God provides all these things for our enjoyment. There is no sin in enjoying the good treasure which God provides, so long as that enjoyment doesn’t lead to us making those things our ultimate treasure.

If you are a pet owner, you feed your pets (I hope.) Well, there is a clear mark of disctintion between a dog that enjoys the food his master gives him, and a dog which makes that food everything. A Dog that wags his tail when he hears the kibbles in his bowl is much different than a dog that will bite your hand to get your sandwich. One enjoys the blessing, and one idolizes the blessing. I think it is the same with us. There is no sin in being blessed, but there can be sin in how we view the blessing.

Do we look to and trust the things that we have, the things that God provides? Or do we look to and trust God who provides them. Do we focus on and set our affection on our riches, or on God who provides our riches?

1 Timothy 6:10 ESV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Again, money is not the problem. It is the focus - the affection - the craving. That is what drives us away. And tying it back, it is not that we have treasures that is the problem, it is “what we treasure” ultimately.

3. A Single Master - Vs. 24

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Finally, we see a single master.

The warning is that “you cannot serve two masters.” The idea of “serving” is total devotion. Certainly, today a person can hold two jobs. I do that, and I think it is possible to hold two jobs and do them well. But the concept is not holding two jobs, it is having two allegiances.

If a servant claimed total devotion, ultimate allegiance to two different masters, then at some point in the very near future there would be a clashing of allegiances.

We talk about “multi-tasking.” Well, scientists say there really is no such thing as “multi-tasking” for humans. We say we are multi-tasking, we say that women are better at it than men. And what we mean by that is focusing one two things at once. Like watching a movie and balancing your checkbook, or driving and talking, or cleaning and listening to the radio.

When we “multi-task” there is almost always a primary and a secondary task. Our minds are constantly switching back and forth between the two, and how good we are at it depends on how fast we can make that switch.

Well, the same could be said here. There can be no total devotion or allegiance to two masters. We can try to serve both, but we will always have to switch back and forth. Here the two masters are God and Money, but you could substitute almost anything for “money.”

“success” “politics” “Appetite” “sex” “possessions”

Anything. If we try to serve the master of money, we cannot serve God. But if God is our master, then everything falls into service of Him.

We can serve God with our money, with our possessions, with our time, but we cannot serve our money, possessions, or time and still serve God.

All the things that we have are tools that can be used. Money is a tool that can be used for good and righteousness, or it can be used for evil and unrighteousness. Our possessions can be used to glorify God, or they can rob glory from God. Our time can be redeemed and utilized for the mission of the Kingdom, or it can be wasted and distract us from that mission.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This fits well, because back in verse 21 we found that the real issue was really the heart, right? Where your treasure is reveals where your heart is. Well, our treasure is supposed to be heavenly, God-ward, and if thats the case it shows that our heart is fixed on God.

We saw also what we look to, what we focus on, and thats really what we trust in. If our trust is earth-ward, then our “eye is unhealthy.” But if out trust is in God, heavenward, then our focus and vision is clear.

And all that dictates who our “master” truly is. We are mastered by what we focus on and treasure. We are mastered by what we trust. And we are to trust in the Lord, and not lean on our understanding.

We are to acknowledge God in all our ways. Now, we could say there, “Acknowledge God with all our time, with all our possessions, with all our things”

Everything we have, time and possessions, is God’s to begin with. If we see God as our master and Lord, then everything we have is in service of Him.

So, whether you are wealthy or comfortable or just scraping by is really of no consequence so long as everything you have is available for God’s service. And that doesn’t always mean that you have to give it all up. God blesses us partly for our enjoyment and peace, and that is a wonderful thing so long as our possessions don’t become our new master.

At the end of the day, we have to keep the ultimate perspective in mind. Going back to Jesus’ words, it is “treasure in heaven” not “treasure on earth” that we are to lay up, to store up, and to treasure. It is the audience of one, and a single master that we are to serve with our belongings, with a single eye of trust and devotion.

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ is Lord, He is Master. There is no doubt there. All other things are lesser and to be subservient to Him. We cannot truly serve Him and any other thing with a total devotion.

A few points of application.

Spend some time meditating on the difference between “earthly treasure” and “heavenly treasure” in your life. Meditate on questions like, “what is it that God treasures?” or “what is it that I can take beyond the grave?” or “what is it that moth, worms, and thieves cannot take away from me?”

Think about whether you are trying to live cross-eyed. What I mean by that, is think about whether or not you are trying to focus and trust in multiple things, or if you have your allegiance settled. Now, we all will have moments and even seasons of wavering, but we cannot live in a constant state of double vision. Is Christ our vision?

3. Think about what truly qualifies as need versus want, as necessity versus luxury. We are so blessed in our time and space, that I know I often move things that are “luxury” over into the category of “necessity.” Then, when those “luxuries” are taken away, we begin to question why God would remove something that we really need? But Paul’s words in Phil. 4 are helpful here.

Philippians 4:13 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

In a couple weeks will be the Super Bowl, and no doubt written on the eye=black or the cleats of some of the Athletes will be that reference, Phil 4:13 - but Paul wasn’t talking about kicking a field goal when he said he could do all things. He was talking about learning how to be content in abundance and in need, in the highs and lows. And that is how we ought to apply it as well.

Rich or poor, comfortable or scraping by, we can endure anything because of Christ, our Master, our Audience of one.

Our life does not consist in our treasures, but in our Lord. May we treasure and look with a single eye to our true Master.