Reading Matthew with Missional Eyes

Jesus has already spoken of what it means to ask in His sermon. Just before  He taught  His followers how to pray, He said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” So when He now says, “Ask and it will be given to you,” He is firstly and foremost speaking about asking God, not asking others. 

One might not think we need encouragement to ask God. We are all so limited, so broken and so faulty that our shortcomings would seem as obvious as daylight and as often as the day is long. Yet we do need that encouragement. For we are very prone to believe that we can be entirely self-sufficient – or at least enough that we don’t need to ask just now. All the same, God can give all things, and there are things that only God can give. So to ask Him is never inappropriate. He is the one who made us, who designated our abilities and who created everything – to ask Him even before we seek for what we need is fitting to who we are, in light of who He is. 

Especially so when one considers His character: He is generous. Always has been. Always will be. He gives to those who ask. He gives us His forgiveness. He gives us His grace. He gives us His Spirit. He gives us peace, life and joy. He gives us all things. For every time we ask, He has opportunity to both exercise His own character, and opportunity to glorify Himself in our asking and our thanks at His answer. To ask is to recognize Him as our God, and recognize ourselves as His people in need of Him. 

So Jesus encourages us, “Ask and it will be given to you….”

Like the phrase, “Do not judge”, “Ask and it will be given” is something we often take out of context. People have used the phrase to build a philosophy that can be summarized as “name it, claim it”. Such a philosophy reduces God Most High to a personal Santa Claus. Preachers who ought to know better have used it to expect ever larger homes and even more expensive personal jets. But the context of the behavior Jesus is encouraging in Matthew 7:7 is not one of uncorking the genie in a bottle. Nor is it one of making ourselves even more comfortable. Instead, it is a statement made in context of living a radically God-centred life. The whole Sermon on the Mount is about living the Christ-life – a life acutely aware of God our Father, and aware that God our Father is acutely aware of us. One must not loose that context when we hear Christ’s words, or when we quote His exhortations.

Jesus also said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Our asking must be with the intention of remaining in Christ – in His service and in His Name and for the Father’s glory. Our asking cannot be the kind of me-centred selfishness that unbelievers pursue every day of their lives. Such shortsighted idolatry is not appropriate for any made in God’s image, let alone for His people. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to ask God for what we need to remain in Christ – in His service and in His Name and for the Father’s glory. The child of God who seeks to honor God ought to lack for nothing in their quest for Him and His Kingdom.

Let us then always be about asking, and let us always be asking for Him, His purposes, His mission and His glory, remembering that, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Amen.

Pray; pray often; pray with sincerity and seriousness; pray, and pray again; make conscience of prayer, and be constant in it; make a business of prayer, and be earnest in it.

Matthew Henry

APPLICATION: Intentionality

What do you need right now to grow God’s Kingdom? Are you asking God for it today?

Jesus has been teaching about reliance on God. He said that we should not   worry about our lives, about what to eat or drink, or what we should wear, but rather instead focus on our Father’s Kingdom and His righteousness. 

We can all recognize each other falling short in these regards, but He also tells us not to judge each other. Returning to His main theme (of focus on God first, God always), Jesus makes an interesting statement, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

It is easy to pick that statement out of context and spiritualize the daylight out of it. But that would be unfair to the Lord who gave it to us in context. To see the truth and value of Jesus’ statement we need to see it in the context in which He gave it to us, and that context is teaching about the mundane things of life (eating and drinking and clothing), our penchant to misapply what God teaches (the plank in our eye) and the priority of God and His Kingdom (seek first).

The food we eat and the water we drink without thinking can be helpful in replenishing our energy, but on account of its dedication to God, the food and drink we thank God for at every meal is actually sacred. After all, it is not (ideally) made as an exercise in utility or as an exercise in vanity. It is prepared specifically that it should be brought in to someone made in the image of God (and as we later find out, our bodies are actually temples of the Holy Spirit – for the Bible teaches, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…”). It is paid for and then sacrificed explicitly for the use of God’s people. Consequently, the effort, expense and care to prepare food and drink should be understood as doing something to purposefully advance God’s Kingdom. Indeed, doing anything less is not unlike taking sacred food and giving it to street dogs. They care nothing for the effort put into it, or the meaning or intention of the meal they are fed. Street dogs only greedily snap it up without consideration, and when it is gone and their appetites inflamed, they snap at the hands that fed them, “Do not give dogs what is sacred… If you do, they may …then turn and tear you to pieces.” And anyone who has worked hard to serve a meal to an ungrateful individual can testify to that. 

Likewise, the clothing we buy to cover and protect our bodies is useful and helpful. What then of the watches, earrings, belts and other jewelry we wear? Jesus notes that the cost and intention is again best set toward God’s Kingdom, not toward personal vanity. It should not be squandered merely to impress pagans. That’s like throwing expensive jewelry to pigs. What do they care for it? “Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet.” And anyone who has specifically picked out clothes to impress others (perhaps at a party of some kind) only to later find those same people mocking them knows exactly what that feels like. 

Of course, Jesus isn’t saying that the mundane parts of life (like eating and drinking and wearing clothes) are unimportant, or that the daily small decisions we make about such things needs to be a matter of intense prayerful discernment. Far from it. But He is telling us that the effort, cost and consideration given to every matter of life should purposefully advance the Kingdom of God and His righteousness – either within us or around us. 

One commentator noted, “Jesus is once again commending a radically theocentric vision of life.” Our lives are created by Him, sustained by Him and redeemed by Him. Our lives must therefore be about honouring Him, always and in all ways. The disciple’s life in all ways must reflect the master, so Jesus would have us to live radically God-centred lives. Amen.

We express our belief system in the daily decisions we make and the behaviors in which we engage.

Knute Larson

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Is there thankfulness to God in your heart as you prepare your daily meals? As you eat them? As you clean up afterward? Are you grateful for His provision as you pick out what to wear each day and as you do laundry?

Jesus continues to build His case for avoiding foolish summary judgments of  other  people, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

CS Keener said, “A splinter or wood chip in one’s eye might render one blind, but a plank imbedded in one’s eye would certainly render one blind.” Anyone who has ever had a speck of sawdust in one’s eye can testify that it makes seeing painful if not impossible. How much more a plank? The hyperbole makes the mental image rather amusing, but the spiritual implication is anything except humorous. Keener argues that Christ’s point is that rationalizing away one’s guilt just blinds yourself. It does not help to point out another sins or to speak critically of them when you yourself have the bigger problem of refusing to even recognize your sin. It is a case of a totally blinded person promising to help someone who is almost blinded. Rather than ease the other’s discomfort, it is likely that irreparable damage will be done. That to both parties too, for the Law said, “Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road.” 

Yet Jesus is not arguing against trying to help others overcome sin or see their own folly. He is not telling His disciples to ignore each other’s plight, but that we must, “first take the plank out of [our] own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus’ comments indicate that our priority is to be our own spiritual vision – our own walk with God  – SO THAT we can help others. “Once we have dealt with our own sins, we are then in a position gently and lovingly to confront and try to restore others who have erred.”

Of course, it does little good to take a plank out of our own eye and leave a handful of specks/splinters behind. Indeed it has been noted that, “It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just so we can cover up our own sins! People who are constantly criticizing others are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives.” 

To truly help others we need perfectly clear vision, and to that point it must be recognized that our spiritual vision and the clarity of that vision is not as an end in itself. We are never freed from spiritual blindness just so we can enjoy a better life, and to think that we are blessed solely for our own enjoyment or that 

 is to have a rather large speck still embedded in our retina. Our spiritual vision is so that we can help others as our Father helps us. For God had said, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”  This is exactly what Jesus Himself was doing. In His very first sermon, He testified, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind.”

Those who have dealt with their sin, who have been forgiven, who have been filled with the Holy Spirit, who are walking daily with Christ – cannot simply leave others to go their way. We have a holy obligation to help, but to do so gently and with much grace. As Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” 

Amen.

Our own sins ought to appear greater to us than the same sins in others.

Matthew Henry

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Ensure your eyes are clear of obstacles before helping others ‘see clearly’.  

There is a reason Jesus doesn’t want us to summarily condemn others, and His reason   goes far beyond the simple fact that we ought not to speak negatively of that which God has made, or lay a curse against a potential or actual brother or sister. He said,  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  

God our Father has integrity. He does not say something and then do the opposite Himself. Likewise, our Father does not judge against that which He excuses Himself on. Of course, He has no need to excuse Himself, because He has integrity and does not act apart from it. In fact, He is the epitome of integrity, having had it, having it now, and knowing that He will have it forever. Scripture affirms God, “does not change like shifting shadows.” It is therefore fitting, appropriate and even necessary for His children to be like Him in also having integrity. 

To judge another for a sin (or a perceived sin), is to recognize that such deserves judgment. Even if we had no sin of our own at all, to pass sentence on another for their failure before God is to assume God’s seat as judge – and what manner of prideful assumption is that? But much worse, for us to do so while holding a place in our hearts for sin is to actually admit that we likewise should be judged. We might not recognize our own error without a lot of self-reflection, but God is “able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” and He does recognize it. Our lack of integrity is not fooling him, even if it fools all around us. Even if it fools us ourselves! The result is that His own integrity comes into play – for how can He allow us to judge another while at the same time expecting Him to excuse us? God could only do that if He lacked integrity. Far be it from Him to treat His children unfairly! The judge of all the earth will always do rightly, so Jesus teaches, “in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

The saddest thing is that people Jesus was speaking to at the time knew this well. “Many a time, the Rabbis warned people against judging others. ‘He who judges his neighbour favourably’, they said, ‘will be judged favourably by God.’ They laid it down that there were six great works which brought credit in this world and profit in the world to come—study, visiting the sick, hospitality, devotion in prayer, the education of children in the law, and thinking the best of other people. The Jews knew that kindliness in judgment is nothing less than a sacred duty.” 

Yet many of them did not practice kindliness in judgment. If they did, Jesus would not have had to make this point. But that He makes it so forcefully is a clear warning to every disciple of God – both the crowd listening at the time and us who are called by His Name thousands of years later.  

When faced with the choice between grace and judgment, the disciple of God must always choose grace! It is what we would want for ourselves. It is what God has already demonstrated for us, and it is the very least we can do for others made in His image.

Amen. 

The whole reckoning of absolution depends upon faith and repentance. And these two things elude the knowledge of a man when he has to pass sentence upon another man.

John Calvin

APPLICATION: Thankfulness

Be grateful that God has not judged us as our sins deserve. Being full of thanksgiving for that, do likewise for others. 

The pithy statement, “Do not judge,” has become a mantra in a world both unwilling to own up to fault, and unable to discern the simplest matters. “The call not to judge has made its way deeply into popular imagination: ‘Who am I to judge?’ Unfortunately the applications people often make … probably have little to do with the intention of either Jesus or the Gospel writers. In a postmodern context there can be a siren call to a radical pluralism.”  

Jesus’ command, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” is anything but a call to radical pluralism. He is not suggesting we set aside discernment. In fact, in the context of that statement in Matthew 7:1, Jesus has just spent a great deal of time explaining to His followers how to better discern the intention of the Law! It should be clear that Jesus is not dismissing the need for a judiciary, either. The judge of all the earth would never say no one should be held accountable. So, it is not the practice of choosing between right and wrong or between better and best that Jesus is setting aside in this command. He is instead commanding us not to pass sentence. The Greek word Jesus uses here – in fact, “the whole word group…is used overwhelmingly for the eschatological judgment of God.” It is not discernment, but the practice of condemnation of another that Jesus speaks against. 

God created the world in just 6 days. He did that by speaking it into existence. And He created us in His image and afforded us power and authority over the rest of physical creation. Consequently, our words also have power. Obviously not the power of creation or authority over time and space as God’s words do, for He is God and we are most definitely not. But our words still carry a certain weight, and we recognize that every time someone says “I give you my word.” Yet if that is true for all people, then for God’s people’s all the more; for we are alive spiritually as well as physically. Moreover, Christ gave us His authority to expand His Kingdom. Therefore, when we glibly pass sentence of our own accord (that is, without Scriptural support for saying so), by saying, “You’ll never amount to much,” or “You are a loser,” or “You fate is certainly to burn in hell,” we are effectively condemning a person God made in His image for His glory. Someone for whom Jesus suffered on the cross.

Such talk has no place coming from the mouth of a child of God. Jesus already warned us against this in Matthew 5:22, “anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” God takes His Word seriously, and we should take our words seriously too.

All the more so considering the context that Jesus gives us His command not to judge. 

Remember that Jesus had just said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” The disciple of Christ must know we will never find or bring about His Kingdom by speaking what is effectively a curse over that which God has made for His glory and one He may yet redeem. Rather, our role in regard to others made in His image is to do all we can to plant and grow God’s Kingdom within them – not the polar opposite. To this point James later said, “From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

The disciple of God must never curse others. It is given to us to judge past behaviour that cannot be changed, but it is not given to us to pass sentence on that which might yet be completely altered by the grace of God. Amen.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

the Apostle Paul (from Romans 12:14)

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Look for opportunities today to lift people up by your words, to speak God’s peace and grace upon them and to in all ways honor Christ before them. 

Jesus is preaching His Sermon on the Mount, addressed to both His  disciples and the  crowd gathered there. As such, and in consideration of their relatively simple lives, He often speaks using metaphors and analogy. Such tools allow that deep truths and complex ideas can be articulated succinctly without the need for prior education, big words or a lengthy introduction. Now teaching about the use of money, He once again expresses a most profound truth using simple imagery, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” 

We know that the eye is simply a lens and gatherer of light, but the people of His day believed that the eye was an actual source of light. So His metaphor has a more solid landing in their thinking then ours, even though what He said more accurately lines up with modern science – light does enter the eye and ‘illumine’ the body (if we take the body as the mind). But the imagery Jesus uses actually transcends a modern human understanding of physics. He uses a metaphor for a metaphor to explain something that would otherwise take many days to explain, and the result is that we can innately grasp what He is saying, “As the lamp is an image for the eye, so the eye in turn is an image for the human capacity to absorb from what is available externally.” 

In other words, what Jesus is teaching is only grasp-able by those who can think straight – those who “have light coming into their bodies,” so to speak. Others, who have “bad eyes” – and so cannot grasp Jesus’ profound truth – are left completely in the dark as to what He is saying and completely unable to apply that truth in any capacity whatsoever. One must therefore understand that Jesus is not just hinting at something. He is raising the stakes on the value of what He is teaching. In fact, He is raising a huge red flag over it. He is telling us that we will completely miss the point if we are not very careful, and our lostness on that point will be severe. 

Certainly that can apply to the entire Sermon. But if so, how much more so His teaching on money? For immediately prior to talking about lamps, eyes and light, Jesus was saying, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Immediately after talking about lamps, eyes and light, Jesus says, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” The metaphor within a metaphor He uses cannot therefore be understood merely as a tool to communicate an erudite thought. It is a flag. It is a flare. A spotlight even, to tell us that our love of money will cloud our thinking and greatly diminish our spiritual insight. 

That is because while we sit and listen to Jesus preaching, our minds are illuminated and clear. But if we do not park our thoughts on what He has just told us, the moment we turn back to normal daily life the pressures and concerns of that daily life will completely overshadow what He just taught. Therefore let us be wise. Let us be of sound mind. Let us think clearly. And let us remember that the economy of God is not built on fiat currency, or on stocks and bonds, or on derivatives and debt, or on real estate or on private equity, or on silver and gold. It is built on gift and sacrifice for His glory.

And that idea we can take to the bank. Amen.

The undivided eye is singularly focused on eternal things; storing up treasures in heaven. The person with a good eye serves only God, not money. Since they are undivided in their commitment to God, they are also generous with their money in responding to the needs of the kingdom.

Alan P. Stanley

APPLICATION: Intentionality

What will you do today to ensure your eyes are good?

The phrase “Skin in the game” is a term coined by renowned investor and   billionaire Warren Buffet. It refers to the idea of management demonstrating confidence in the company they are running by using their own money to buy and hold its stock. The thinking is that corporations are better managed by those who share ownership. After all, it is common sense to protect and bless that which you own and value. Jesus knew that. In fact, He articulated that principle thousands of years before Warren Buffet put it into the modern business vocabulary. In the middle of His Sermon on the Mount He makes the profound observation, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Jesus is imparting to us a simple equation: Value multiplied by ownership equals the level of heart engagement. 

It is a simple equation with complicated outcomes, because heart engagement forms the worldview of the individual. Our worldview is the basis upon which we make every one of our decisions. If your worldview is that X is most valuable (and that all should therefore be done to protect X), but reality is that X is not actually that valuable, you will innately make wrong decisions. This is what Jesus is warning us about. Placing too much emphasis on the temporary is eternally damaging. As Rev. Don Oslen used to preach, “Never sacrifice the eternal on the altar of the temporary!” 

The great commentator Matthew Henry once wrote, “We are therefore concerned to be right and wise in the choice of our treasure, because the temper of our minds, and consequently the tenor of our lives, will be accordingly either carnal or spiritual, earthly or heavenly. The heart follows the treasure, as the needle follows the loadstone, or the sunflower the sun.” Another commentator writes, “What really makes a treasure valuable is the affection of the heart. He whose treasures are on earth has his heart anchored to the earth; he whose treasures are in heaven has his heart anchored there. The earth and all its treasures must pass away; what, then, about the heart that loses all its treasures? Heaven alone abides forever; the heart whose treasures are there will never lose them.”

This is truth: The economy of God is not built on gold or silver. In God’s kingdom, gold will be used as a paving material, and silver will be as common as stones. Rather, the economy of God is built on gift and sacrifice. To have ‘skin in the game’ in heaven is to engage in gift and sacrifice now, so as to place treasure in heaven. There it will be kept for us – uncorrupted and free of danger of theft. And at the same time, here and now we will be both freer and less encumbered and at the same time, others will be encouraged and given hope. Amen.

Our decision about which bank we store our wealth in is a spiritual phenomenon! It is a piece of spiritual litmus paper, or to use another image, a spiritual thermometer. It tests the reality of our faith and indicates our spiritual health.

 Francis A. Schaeffer

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Look most carefully. Where is your heart?

People accumulate wealth for all manner of reasons. Having a thick bank   account and much financially invested gives one a sense of security. It allows a level of freedom from the tyranny of chronic financial urgency. It permits a certain level of freedom from slavery to the clock. You become free to do as you wish and go where you wish. But it also has a darker side. It grants opportunity to be seen as somehow more important than the rest of humanity, appealing to a sinful sense of pride. It affords that you gain at least temporary control of resources that the desperate among us truly need, which appeals to a wicked sense of power. Having much can put you in a position of needing great discernment at the very time your sense of discernment is impaired by the natural human inclination toward greed. Yet even if we do have and exercise discernment with wealth, there is still the constant corrosion of daily life expenses and the ever present need to guard against outright theft. 

When we want to keep a treasure safe from loss here in our fallen world, we put in a steel box called a “safe”. To give extra protection (and ensure the safe itself is not stolen) we put our treasure in a safe inside a vault in a bank. That’s called a “safety deposit box”. Although there have been thefts from safety deposit boxes, generally they are regarded as the safest place we can put something. Of course, such a privilege does have a cost. Safety deposit boxes are not free! The corrosion of annual cost slowly grinds down the treasure within.

Although there is no way to hoard God’s blessing without negative consequence on earth, there is a way to store up blessing in a godly way. Jesus explains, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Jesus is telling us there is a place where blessing can be stored with only positive outcomes! Where it is not corroded by expenses and taxes and subject to imminent theft. It is a place where we can store up good things without fear of loss. Luke wrote a more detailed account of Jesus teaching on this subject. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Jesus equates giving to the poor to storing up treasure in heaven. Exactly how that works is not given to us, but it is obvious that God sees all that we do for those He made in His image, and we know that He is no man’s debtor. Moreover, 1Peter 1:4 tells us that God keeps something else aside for us in heaven, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.” To give to the poor is to add to that inheritance. 

Safety deposit boxes are not unlimited in size, nor do they come with a treasure already inside them. Yet our heavenly safety deposit box has all those benefits and more. The student of Scripture can be confident that it is folly to store up treasure on earth, but it is most wise to store up treasure in heaven!

A man who is perfect before the Lord lays out his substance for God’s cause, depend on that. He does not merely attend conferences, and talk of good things, of spirituality of mind, and sanctification by faith, and all those glittering subjects; but he lives for Jesus in some practical work, and gives himself up, and his substance too, for the honour of the Redeemer’s name and the diffusion of the glorious gospel.

Charles Spurgeon

APPLICATION: Intentionality

What have you stored up in heaven? How are you adding to your eternal inheritance?

The Lord once sent the prophet Nathan to King David, telling him a story about a rich   man who had much, and a poor man who little; “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. […] Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!”  

Nathan’s point was to show David the error of his way. It is a grave injustice for the rich to take what they need from the poor so they can keep what they have for themselves.  David’s visceral response is common to all who innately understand the idea of fairness. Yet all who know the full story of 2Sam 12 know just how ironic David’s response was, and how what he said to Nathan would immediately come back to bite him. For the Bible reader has already been informed by the prior chapter, “The thing David had done displeased the Lord.” That was probably an understatement. David’s sin was not unlike sticking his finger in God’s eye, and yet ironically it was only David who was blind to his personal folly. 

What then of us? Surely God Himself has at least as strong a reaction to injustice as David did. Certainly God knows that all around us are the very poor. What does God know about us that we don’t recognize, or that we won’t recognize? Are we just as blind to what we are doing as David was to what he had done?

In Deuteronomy 15, the Lord warned us that hard-heartedness toward the needy is not mere folly. It is sin. “Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” 

God expects us to care for the less fortunate. He expects us to care enough to do something about their lack. It is not an understatement to say that the reason He gives wealth to us to start with is that we might share it with the less fortunate so that we might exercise His character of compassion, generosity and mercy. That we might see others through His eyes. That they might know that God (through those made in His image) has not forgotten them. That both they and us would build relationships that honor Him. But none of that happens if we just put the wealth and gifts God gives us on a shelf.  To that point Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” 

God doesn’t just see what we do with our wealth – He also knows what will happen to it as a result of our choices. Therefore, to accumulate treasure just for the sake of storing it up is not unwitting misuse or simple ignorance. It is taking the blessing God gave you (not just for yourself, but that you might honour His Name by blessing others), and feeding it to moths and giving it to thieves. That is not just simple foolishness. It is a great affront to the One who gave that treasure to you, for you are deliberately setting aside His purposes for your own. What then will be your reward? Surely there will be none. Only wrath. 

The end of each life and the final judgment show that the person and the possessions are not durable. Trusting in wealth because it supposedly “retains its value” is trusting in a charade.

Kurt A. Richardson

APPLICATION: Thankfulness

Thank God for His grace to you, that you might both receive and give to Him, and that you might both receive and give to others.

In our day, much has been made of the 1%. Every society looks on with   longing and no small amount of distrust at those who annually take more in than 99% of the rest of the nation. That distrust is driven largely by jealousy. The 1% take exotic vacations the rest can only dream of. They own large homes, wonderful properties and luxurious cars the rest of society wants but cannot afford. But the 1% has its own problem; The 0.1%. The 0.1% are those who fly to and fro in private helicopters, who control enormous companies and who have wildly out of proportion influence in political decisions. The 1% look at the 0.1% the same way the 99% look at the 1%. We might conclude that such is only just desserts. Yet, if we speak globally instead of nationally, most westerners are already in the top 1% income bracket, because half the world lives on less than 3$/day. So, the problem is not where you are on the wealth scale, but how you think about money that gives you peace about it or not, and it is how you use your money that causes the rest of society to trust you with it or not. 

Jesus has been teaching about hypocrisy. He has taught us about the hypocrisy of giving to impress others, of praying to impress others, of fasting to impress others. “Hypocrisy deceives others, yet it deceives the person guilty of it most of all. From the deception of others Jesus now turns to the deception of self; and the example he uses is the seeking of perishable treasures instead of the imperishable.” To this point Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”  

The issue at hand is not so much that you have stored up a sum of money. The wise save for future needs. The wisest man who ever lived encouraged us to be likewise diligent, saying, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Gathering in the harvest so you won’t starve when no harvest is to be had is expected, necessary and wise, so do not think that Jesus is speaking against common sense. Rather, He is speaking against treasuring treasure for treasure’s sake. 

Treasure is meant to be used for blessing, not for hoarding. When it is used to bless it is helpful. But when it is hoarded it is not helpful, for it no longer is traded for goods and services you need or even goods and services you want. It therefore does nothing for you or for those you love. It does not even provide employment for others. Especially not when it is hoarded beyond all need, and most especially not when it is hoarded to the great grief of others who have much need and have no means at all. 

Besides which, even the most common of folks can recognize that earthly treasure does not last. Over time corrosion and natural forces degrade property, and the stored coin and jewels they cannot degrade the thief can steal. Being fixated on treasure can therefore never produce enjoyment of life. In fact it only ensures paranoia. The questions become not what to do with it, but, “What if you loose some of it?” and “What if you loose all of it?” We find that what was once sought for enjoyment becomes the very thing that throttles our enjoyment. Yet that too is not a newly found fact. people throughout time have found that amassing wealth on earth did nothing for their happiness, peace or true enjoyment of life. It only give more options on how to use your time. As the pagan philosopher Plutarch wisely said, “The right use of wealth is a fairer trait than excellence in arms; but not to need wealth is loftier than to use it.”

The modern reader of Scripture knows this. We are not blessed so we can accumulate to our own hurt. But what we know that Plutarch never realized is that we are blessed that we might be a blessing! Amen.

It is our duty to make the best use of every part of our possession that is possible in our circumstances. If there was any way within our reach in which our money might have produced more good and more honor to God when we spent it in something innocent, but less beneficial to his service, we have come short of our duty. We have sinned.

Robert Dabney

APPLICATION: Intentionality

How are you honouring God with some of your wealth? How are you honouring God with the rest of it?