A, Pentecost 2 Proper 3 - Matthew 6:24 "Where your treasure lies?"
If there is one verse in the bible that strikes fear into the hearts of a modern day western world Christian it has to be Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.” Theses are strong words, and they play havoc in the hearts of those whose conscience yearns towards the
This verse stands at the centre of a larger reading. We have heard the second half of the reading which spotlights our worrying and trouble. But we also do well to hear the verses immediately prior to this “God and Money” verse, which encourages us to hear we are part of a much bigger harvest than the earthly one we celebrate today.
We hear from Matthew 6:19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not 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 eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 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!
24 “No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money. (Matthew 6:19-24)
Following these verses we then hear, in today’s reading, what the results are of serving Money — namely, worry. And we are reassured that our Father in heaven knows our true needs and surely does provide them for us.
Nevertheless, we now stand on the brink of another bleak winter. While the summer rains began with much promise, they have petered out to nothing in autumn. Perhaps what you see is the onset of darkness and struggle — worry and trouble!
But what one sees depends on what one considers valuable. Jesus tells us the eyes are the lamp of the body. So what is it that you see? What is it that you consider valuable? And so, we are returned to the black and white statement, you cannot serve both God and Money!
The reason Jesus speaks about worry and money and the troubles of today and tomorrow, is that these are very real things going on in every person’s life. In fact, if anyone here claims that they do not worry about money — keeping it, losing it, getting it, or not having it — is perhaps lying or deluding themselves. Jesus speaks to you and me today, in this harvest thanksgiving service, as we struggle with the very real troubles that face us today and tomorrow, causing us all sorts of worries and problems.
However, on investigation, this text addresses a central issue that has been plaguing humanity since the fall. When we allow this text to permeate our being, and remove the outer problems of our survival, it reveals one thing and calls us into another. Your earthly struggles, troubles, worries, and doubts place you smack bang back at the first commandment and asks you, “Who you gona’ trust — God, or yourselves and the money you have or haven’t got?”
At the heart of the matter, is the command, I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods. Who is your God? Our faithlessness and unbelief is revealed and all the while we’re being called to the faith God has for us. Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be!
Jesus hits us with some heavy language, saying that you will hate and despise one over the other and you will love and be devoted to one over the other. In your love and devotion what is it that you hate and despise?
Asking the question in other ways we might ask ourselves, “What is it that I value most? Is EVERYTHING else second to God? How do I give to God? What does coming to church do in my life? Do I find church boring? Do I seek the treasures of heaven? Do I know exactly what they are? Do I hate and despise happiness in all earthly things? Am I devoted to God and love him to the point where I would forsake my will in devotion to his?
If we’re honest with ourselves these questions reveal that our eyes are bad. Every one of us struggles with darkness. In fact, the more we think we don’t the graver the darkness actually is! We are all products of today’s society. What we consider as being normal is far from what God intends for us. It’s been that way in every generation since the beginning of time. However, we in our society have refined the time it takes to turn away from God through a multitude of distractions and distortions readily available to us.
We seem to be breaking all the records in the length of time it takes to abandon the community God calls us into, in favour of ourselves. We have developed intolerance for giving time, but when it comes to our possessions or our desires we have all the time in the world.
Fuel prices will increase and taxes have to increase! As our level of greed increases the infrastructure around us also needs to increase. That’s just the way it goes. And as it does we’re tempted to focus more and more on what we want and less on who we need. But God does not forget. He hasn’t forgotten us. Our harvest is testament to God’s faithfulness.
On the other hand, the products of our unfaithfulness before a God we seem to forget are worry, doubt, pride, and arrogance. And the products of these are price increases and resource decreases. Oil goes up as the water goes down. What will fix this? More money? What a load of rubbish!
Rest assured that this kingdom of cards will come tumbling down sooner or later. There have been many kingdoms before and where are they today? Yet the
There are two paths we can take. We can value he who has our names written on his hands with the nails of the cross, repent and remain with him. Or you can run after things like the pagans do, letting your Lord suffer in vain. Either way God does not forget. Perhaps our hardships are set to save us from ourselves so we see our Saviour as the only true light of salvation.
So let us replace money with God, return to he who provides, be bound to a life worth living in Christ, and let the Holy Spirit restore your faith by hearing and believing his forgiveness. Let us be prepared to stand before a God who does not forget, but always wants to forgive!
In his faithfulness God seeks to gather you into his harvest of righteousness. So seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Amen. (Matthew 6:33)
