Treasures in Heaven, Lesson 6

ASSIGNMENT: Read this lesson and Matthew 6:19-24.

A rich, old miser was given a very short time to live. It was his intent to take his money with him. He called in his lawyer, pastor and doctor and gave each of them an envelope containing $300k with instructions to drop them into his casket just prior to lowering it into his grave. At his funeral, the pastor cleared his throat and said, “I have to confess. I took $100k to repair our church’s leaking roof.” Then the doctor said, “I also have to say that I took $200k to establish a free clinic in a poor neighborhood in our city.”

The lawyer self-righteously shook his head at both of them. “Even though you did good with the money, you still stole from the old man. Me, I used all $300k for a new yacht, but instead of stealing, I wrote him a check for the entire amount and placed it in the envelope.” The old miser was obviously wrong about his friends and how he could take his treasure with him. But it is possible for us to take more with us into our life after this one than we could ever use here. Today, Jesus is in the investment advice business. He tells us how we can start banking our treasure for eternity.

Perhaps, like me, when you think of treasure, you think of the rich young ruler found in all three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. The fact the story is repeated three times makes it pretty important. You’ve likely heard it many times. A man ran up to Jesus and asked what good thing he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by telling him to obey the Ten Commandments. The man said he had done that from his youth. Here is how Matthew, an eyewitness, recorded what followed. “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:20-21 NIV

The young man missed the opportunity to gain both heaven and treasure, by selecting what he had here over what Jesus offered. He could have had much more, but he settled for less. Jesus told him, essentially, get rid of anything in your life that is more important to you than me and follow me. We cannot truly follow Jesus if he is not the central focus of our life.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 9:19-21 | NIV)

Jesus is communicating with us directly and logically, saying exactly what he means. He begins by telling us, his disciples, what not to do and continues with an explanation. [19] “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.A more accurate translation from the Greek, would be, “Stop storing up for yourselves . .” He is saying it doesn’t matter what you did before, stop. It is time for a change.

We should keep in mind that most of the people listening to Jesus teach likely had little in the way of earthly belongings. So, rather than encouraging them to quit hoarding their meager possessions and regretting what they don’t have, he is encouraging them to focus on making deposits in a heavenly bank account–putting something away for eternity. No matter what you did before, he is saying to his disciples, starting today, stop concerning yourself with things that don’t last.

Most of us have likely seen the bumper sticker that brags, “He who dies with the most toys wins” or “I want to be like Barbie, that girl has everything.” We live in a very materialistic society. For people who live by the idea their stuff defines them, no matter how much of it they have, it will never be enough. They must have the latest and greatest. If you disagree, consider this. Most of the world would shake their heads in dismay to learn that Americans rent storage spaces to store the stuff we have no room to store at home. And people who rent them often even forget what it is that they are paying to store.

Much of what we consider treasure is really useless garbage or stuff we ought to recycle. The only value is sentimental. It may be a treasure to us, but when we die it will be disposed of in a garage sale euphemistically called an estate sale. The Psalmist said it like this. Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them. (Psalm 39:6 | HCSB) We cannot take anything from this world but our soul.  The Apostle Paul told a young preacher, [7] For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (1 Timothy 6:7 | NIV) 

From what we can tell from reading Scripture, many, if not most, of the people in the crowds that thronged to Jesus were poor. They were people who were barely scraping by. And yet he is warning them not to store up treasures. He’s telling folks who have few material possessions not to hold too tightly to them or strive for more. Either Jesus was really misreading his audience, or he had something else in mind.

This passage may be the essence of this sermon. Jesus is teaching disciples how easy it is to become sidetracked. Remember, those closest to him had left everything to follow him. Why would he caution against continuing to store up treasures? That is because treasures are not just wealth and material possessions. Treasures, like idols, are things or activities that are more important to us than our relationship with God. Jesus should be our treasure and being like him in this life is the only way we can build a nest egg for eternity.

Honor and prestige can become a treasure. Remember his disciples fought over who would have honored positions in God’s kingdom. And when it came to Jesus’s attention, he responded by showing them honor is obtained through service. Matthew 20:26 CEV “If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others.” Families can also become our treasure. In Luke 9:59-60, we read, Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Even our loved ones should not take precedence over our relationship with Jesus. For many jobs are  treasures. For others, homes or vehicles are treasures. For young families, increasingly, activities have become treasures. They must often choose between church and their children’s softball games or soccer matches.

Time can be a treasure. In fact, I believe it is one treasure we all tend to squander. We can either use it to glorify God or waste it in pursuit of things and activities of no eternal value. The average person spends 2.5 hours/day on social media and 3.5 hours/day watching tv. Admittedly, most of those studied were not Jesus-followers, but many professed Christians are indistinguishable from their non-believing neighbors. And Jesus is telling us that’s not right.

We are positively rewarded in eternity according to the way we live our lives here on earth. Good works don’t earn our salvation. Faith in Jesus does that. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But good works convert to heavenly treasure. And heavenly treasures are eternal. What did you read on Facebook yesterday or watch on tv last night? Did that time spent change anyone’s life, make you a better Christian, a better neighbor or a better person?

Jesus is concerned about selfishness and misplaced values. He knows that if we have all we think we need we begin to think we don’t need him. Even people who are not well-off make too many unnecessary sacrifices just to get more stuff. Many believers are wasting time that could be better spent elsewhere earning extra money for things and reasons they won’t even remember.

They could have been doing their part enlarging God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus is cautioning his disciples, us included, that they must not lay up treasure for themselves. There are numerous stories of people who lived frugally, began accumulating wealth, but eventually became so fearful they would lose it that they died, seemingly destitute.

One such example is Sylvia Bloom who worked for 67 years as a secretary in a Wall Street law firm. She even managed her boss’ financial affairs. Each time he bought stock, she bought shares of the same stock. She eventually became wealthy. But even her firefighter husband didn’t know she was rich before he died. When she died, she had no one to leave her $9M to.

So, her fortune was used to fund scholarships. She missed the opportunity of seeing her money bless and enrich the lives of others. Even worse she missed the opportunity to duplicate her worldly wealth so she could enjoy it in her life after this one. Pastor Rick Warren summed it up like this, “Do your givin’ when you’re livin’ and you’ll be knowin’ where it’s goin’ .

 [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. What is eternity in relation to a person’s life? Where do you intend to spend eternity? If, like me, you view this life as a single drop in the ocean of eternity and you intend to spend eternity in heaven, how is it we can still go so wrong in our thinking? How can we forget this world is not our home?

What Jesus says compels us to see ourselves as we really are and hopefully makes us want to do what is necessary to fix it.  We are not permanent residents of this world — we are only sojourners. If we have a right view of ourselves in this world as pilgrims who are only passing through; as children of God waiting to enter our eternal home, everything falls into place.

Our Lord is dealing here with people who get their main, or even total, satisfaction in this life from things that belong to this world only. “World” is anything that is not of God or pertaining to God. The problem arises when those other things become more important to us than God. One of the saddest characters in the Bible is Demas, who is only mentioned three times. When we first meet him he is called a fellow worker with Paul, Mark and Luke in Philemon 24.

In Colossians 4:14, Paul writes, “Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings.” Note Paul’s description has been moderated somewhat. And finally, when we read 2 Timothy 4: 9-10, we are told that he has sold out. Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.  

Demas served with the most dedicated evangelist in the Church’s history and we can be certain he saw God’s power manifested in Paul’s ministry on a daily basis, yet he walked away. Jesus expects us to overcome the world while living in the midst of it. Instead, Demas was overcome by the world. You cannot ride the fence with Jesus. You are either all in or all out.

There is another, more subtle, aspect of worldliness we should consider. That is the cares of this world, especially in a world as messed up as this one seems to be today. We can allow ourselves to become so anxious and worried, that we fail to rely on God and begin to put our confidence in ourselves, our savings or the government.

Think of the angst and anger following the 2020 Presidential election. Regardless of which political party we identify with, we are left to ask this question. What message was that mob of professed Christians sending to an unsaved world as they prayed in the name of Jesus prior to violently storming the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, with Bibles in hand, blowing a shofar and waving a Christian flag?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (v.21) The Bible uses the word heart for the whole inner man, the core of our total being, the wellspring of all we do. This means that Christ is telling us that where our treasure is, there will be all our total being.

What we cherish most controls us. It determines our values and the choices we make. If you want to know what matters most to you, take a look at your bank statement. What expenses beyond the basic necessities of life received your hard-earned dollars? What is it in your life that you cannot live without? What important financial decisions will you make without consulting God?

In a sense we are continuing the thought Jesus established with forgiveness in our last lesson. We were offered a choice to forgive and be forgiven or to be unforgiving and remain unforgiven. This week we are offered a choice between earthly and heavenly treasures. Jesus will tell his followers it is an either/or proposition. We can’t serve both God and money.

We can certainly amass treasure in this life and use it wisely. It’s not that God doesn’t want us to be affluent. But he is very particular about how we use what we have been given. If you have money, use it in ways that help others while you can. That way, when you arrive in glory, the people who benefited by it here will be there to welcome you. If you have talent, use it. Even if you have nothing in the way of financial resources, simply loving others and treating people with kindness adds to your heavenly account.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2 | NIV) When you do good here, it follows you in the life after this one. When I was growing up we didn’t have a ton of money. My mom saved S&H Green Stamps and eventually redeemed them for items of value. The first boss I had in my investigative career bought savings bonds while serving in WWII. He eventually cashed them in to buy waterfront property. Both took actions in the present expecting future reward. This is exactly the lesson Jesus expects us to learn.

Faith is trusting that whatever we invest in good works here reaps dividends in eternity. You weren’t saved for heaven, you were saved for good works. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 | NIV)

In the last lesson Jesus laid the foundation for avoiding worldliness in the three pious practices: giving, praying and fasting. What we do in private prepares us to live publicly in the world while avoiding the temptation that ensnared Demas. We are walking through this world under the eye of God, in the direction of God; towards our heavenly home. Today we received the best investment advice we will ever hear.

Do you want to leave your treasure behind or do you want it to be waiting for you? Doing righteous deeds, suffering for Christ’s sake, forgiving one another—all these have the promise of “reward.” We can choose to be like the rich young ruler and forego eternal riches only to leave our fortune behind when our time here is up.  The better choice is to use what God has given us in terms of time, talent and treasure to build our heavenly nest egg.

Discussion

1. What surprised you most about this passage?
2. Did any of hit hit a little too close to home? How?
3. What Scripture or observation led you to consider making some changes?
4. Why is it so hard, to paraphrase the words of Jim Elliot, to be willing to give up what you cannot keep to gain what you cannot lose?
5. Why do we strive so hard to buy stuff that that we don’t need with money we don’t have.
6. What gets in the way of you making Jesus the central focus of your life?
7. What do you think about intentionally doing things to build a heavenly nest egg?
8. Did you identify any “treasures” in your life?
9. Grandma used to describe some people as, “So heavenly minded they were no earthly good.” Do you think Jesus would disagree? Why/why not?
10. Would what Jesus taught in this lesson matter if there was no life after this one?