In the first half of this chapter our Lord describes the Christian’s private spiritual life – or at least what ought to be our private life. He noted our praying, our giving and our fasting. Some of the Jews made this public, but it shouldn’t have been. By making public private service and worship, the righteousness and good was sucked out of it.
Now, our Lord looks at some things which may, or may not be more public. He deals with things like money, possessions, foods, clothing and ambitions. You might compare these two divisions by using words like “spiritual” and then “secular.” But actually, in the true Christian there is no real separation the spiritual and the secular. As I tried to point out this morning, everything that we do is done in the presence of the Lord and should be done in accordance to His will. That is one of the things which Christ emphasizes – “When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” “When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
Christ’s other emphasis is His call that we are to be different from the rest society. In the earlier portion of Jesus’ sermon, He had attacked very clearly the egotistical Pharisees. And now He levels His guns on the corrupt values of the Gentiles – the heathens.
The Lord tells us that we have basically two sets of alternatives. There are two treasures (on earth and in heaven). We live in two spiritually-related, atmospheric conditions (light and darkness). There are two masters (God and mammon). And there are two human preoccupations (our bodies and God’s kingdom). In these things if you choose to be a mugwump – you’ll end up in disaster. My Father told me that a “mugwump” was someone whose mug (his face) was on one side of the fence and his wump was on the other. The Lord wants us to make a choice in each of these things. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Lord, in these specifics, help us to make the right choice? Here in this sermon the Lord Jesus does exactly that.
First, we must deal with the question of our TREASURE.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I remind you that Jesus begins to guide us by pointing out the relative durability of these two kinds of treasures. This ought to be very easy to decide, because treasures on earth are very insecure. If our object is to lay up treasure, and if the only kind which lasts are Heavenly treasures, then is there any choice to make.
I was learning, the other day, about a relatively new kind of addiction – adrenalin. There are people, who find it necessary to live on the cusp of death; without it they don’t feel alive. Base-jumping is one such group of people. Their numbers are constantly growing and shrinking all the time, because even as newcomers join their ranks, it isn’t long before even the most experienced die. These people value – treasure, if you will – a thrill which can never be duplicated, but which must be replaced by a greater thrill almost immediately. The primary subject in this article, showed all the signs of addiction. For example, he was incapable of thinking about anything but his addiction. He couldn’t hold a job very long, and the only reason that he worked at all was to have money to spend on his next adrenalin high. He didn’t want to be with anyone who wasn’t as high as he was – a fellow junkie. He was good for nothing and had nothing to contribute to society except some spectacular videos. What is the difference between a shot of adrenalin and the love of one’s spouse, parent or child? What is the nature of genuine value – treasure? May I suggest that durability, longevity is a part of the equation?
One of the first things that we must do here is to find out what the Lord is NOT forbidding. No where in Bible do we read of God forbidding the ownership of private property. No where are told not to save for a rainy day; or to have life or health insurance. What is the meaning of Proverbs 6:6 – “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise”? The Bible says that if we don’t try to provide for our family we are worse than infidels. We are commanded in the Bible not to despise, but to enjoy, the good things which God gives us. “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sancified by the word of God and prayer.” “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
Perhaps what we ought to emphasize here are the words “for yourself.” Without doubt the Bible condemns selfish accumulation of wealth – especially when others are in need. This does not forbid making sensible provision for our future. Rather it condemns covetous misers who hoard, and thereby waste, what the Lord has given.
Christ Jesus says that earthly treasures get rusty, get moth-eaten and get stolen. When you think about it, nothing was safe in the days of the Saviour. They didn’t have bug spray, moth balls, galvanized metal, or safes. We have rat poison, mouse-traps, rustproof paint, and burglar alarms. But we also inflation, devaluation, built in obsolescence, and hidden taxation. The things we hoard and keep in this world are absolutely lost to next world. As Job said, “Naked came I from my mothers womb and naked shall I return thither.”
But treasure in heaven is incorruptible. And again, what exactly is that treasure? Christ Jesus doesn’t give us an itemize list of eternal collectibles. The government may give us list of non-taxable items, but the Lord doesn’t do that. We may say that anything on earth which is done for eternity should be considered as treasure in Heaven. But we must not assume that everything done for eternity is eternally acceptable. Just because we think that something is worthy of the Bank of Heaven, doesn’t mean that the bank manager there agrees. We must consider God’s Word when we talk of such things. The following story may be apocryphal, but who knows. I read of a wealthy man who was giving $50 to a Christian orphanage when a messenger came in saying that he had just lost $450,000 in a business disaster. Immediately the man tore up the check and wrote another for $5,000, saying, “I may loose everything I own on earth, but not what I give to Lord.”
Of course, this has nothing to do with bribing the door-keeper of glory to let us slip through a back way and to surprise God that we eventually made it. This in no way contradicts the gospel of salvation by Grace. Christ is addressing people who were already are children of God. So what sort of thing is the Lord referring to here? Giving out of a heart of love and worship. Time spent in service to Christ or mankind in a Christlike fashion. Anything which contributes to the work of Holy Spirit in our own life. Work which is done on your faith, your love, your peace, gentleness and goodness. Your witness to others of God’s grace, or His attributes or judgments. These things are done on earth, but they have eternal consequences. If it is a safe investment that you are looking for, you can’t beat serving God.
A second question here is that of VISION.
Verse 22 – “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Here we move from the comparative durability of treasurers to comparative benefits of conditions. The illustration which our Lord uses is that of physical sight.
How much of what you do from day to day, depends upon your eye sight? I used to have a lot more scripture memorized than I do today. If I didn’t have reasonably good eyes, I’d have a hard time developing my messages. I drove my car to get to church this evening. It would be hard to do without sight. I know how to get a fork to my mouth, but I’d have a hard time stabbing my food or cutting my meat if I couldn’t see. My eyes illuminate the rest my body – my hands, lips, feet and whatever. Blind people can cope marvelously well, but what a huge change there is between sight and blindness. Sighted people walk in light, while blinded people walk in darkness. And when a sighted eye goes bad the whole body will be full darkness.
Now, the eye is often in Bible used to symbolize the heart. For example, “to set the heart” and to “fix the eye” on something are synonyms. The argument is this: just as eye affects the whole body, so our ambitions (where we fix our heart) affects our whole life. Just as seeing right gives good direction to the body, so does placing our heart on right things directs the whole life. Selfish ambitions, such as laying up treasures on earth, puts us into moral darkness. That sort of thing makes people intolerant, inhuman, ruthless and useless.
But if your heart is directed towards the Lord, your life will be well spent.
And then finally this evening, we consider a question of WORTH.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” At this point, the Lord reminds us what lies behind the two choices which we have just made. How we look on our treasures in this world depends on who our master is.
“Mammon” is a translation of an Aramaic word for “wealth.” Luke 16:11 shows the Lord’s intention in using this word – “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
Sadly, most professing Christians disagree with Jesus on this verse. They say we CAN serve God – on Sunday – and we can serve mammon Monday through Friday. Then on Saturday we exchange that mammon for the gods of fun and pleasure. Or people think that we can serve God with our lips, but we serve mammon with the rest of our lives. But not so – they miss the reference to slaves here. It is possible to work for two masters on the same day. But it is impossible to be a slave to two opposite and unrelated owners. Anyone who divides his allegiance between God and mammon has already given it to mammon. This is because God can be served only with an entire exclusive devotion. “I am the Lord, thy God. Thou shalt have no other god’s before me.”
How can we test ourselves to see if we are mammon worshipers? How about these – do you think of only yourself when making business deal? Are you happy when have money, but troubled when you don’t? Is your security based on insurance, bank accounts and fixed assets? If you lost everything would you be prone to suicide? How about – if the Lord returned right now would you be disappointed?
This part of Jesus’ sermon boils down to plain old idolatry. That is a lot more than most people like to admit. Idolatry is still a very common sin. Laying up treasures on earth usually involves idolatry. “Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
The Lord Jesus wants us to think about our motives and ambitions in life. Do they glorify God, or do they please the flesh?