where your heart is

Teaching about Money and Possessions

19 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
22 "Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing,29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 "So don't worry about these things, saying, `What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?'32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.33 Seek the Kingdom of Godsabove all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

matthew 6

where are my treasures? if i had to honestly answer right now, they would be a mixture of down here on earth and up there in heaven. i'm torn. my treasures seem to be my guitars, my laptop, my camera, my photos, my music, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, etc. my other treasures such as God, the Father, and Jesus are in heaven waiting for me. but it seems like if i was given a choice between the two, my heart would be very torn. i guess what Jesus is trying to say is that i should cherish my relationship with Him more than anything else because nothing else really provides for me and satisfies me like He does. when my treasures are all in heaven, then it's easier to let go of the things that i never really "owned" here on earth. the part that really convicts me is, "wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." i want the desires of my heart to be in heaven. i want to long, yearn, hunger, thirst for Jesus. i know that He is the only way. but i get so caught up in His blessings and forget to worship the One who blesses. i end up making His blessings idols in my life, things that distract me or remove me from my relationship with Him.

the eye in this passage is similar to the "heart" in Jewish literature (taken from khuong's esv study bible). and so if our eye, our heart, is good, our whole bodies are filled with light. and i talk about this a lot, but Jesus can't drive this point home enough! how good my heart is will start showing through the rest of my body, my actions will be good, and they will be filled with light. my life will shine God's light! but if my heart is bad, then my actions in turn will be a reflection of my heart. and if i actually thought that my actions were glorifying to God and uplifting to others when in reality, they were detrimental to people's faith and not glorifying at all, that darkness is even deeper! i've fooled myself into thinking that my actions were good and have no idea that my heart is not right with God. that's even worse than knowing your heart is not right with Him, because if it's plain to see that we need work, we can do something about it! but when it's hidden and we have no idea, we can go on for a long time before we realize it if we ever do!

verse 24 beckons back to the first part. money doesn't just have to be possessions and cash. it doesn't have to be just materialistic things like boats, cars, and houses or stocks or anything like that. it can also be your career, your school, your friends, your lifestyle, your comfort, your mindset, your pride, your status, even your own family. what Jesus is saying here is that i can't serve God and everything else in my life. i either choose to follow God or i follow everything else. i've learned that the jewish usage of hate is giving up one thing to grasp onto another. so we either give up the blessings that He gives us to grasp onto God or give up God to grasp onto His blessings instead. i'm learning how to give up His blessings to grab a hold of Him! it's like choosing between what a friend gives you and your friend. do you care about your friend or the benefits that he or she gives you?? would you rather choose how your friend benefits you or choose your friend without all the bonuses? this is what Jesus is trying to ask us. "are you choosing me or the things i give you?" and it's so easy sometimes to demand that we get what we want instead of what we need. and we get angry at God. when the entire time, He knows what's best for us. He knows that we need is Him, not His blessings. and we use that against Him all the time, don't we?

this last part has been the hardest thing for me to learn lately. when everyone around me is opposing it. even people at church who haven't fully surrendered themselves to the freedom of Christ advise me against it. i try not to worry about tomorrow. and yet it comes creeping up again and again. and i stop putting my faith and trust in God and start figuring out some way i can get it done on my own. and i read this verse about how God cares for the birds and the flowers and how much more He'll care for me and i stand in awe and stand in love. my Father loves me so much. how could i ever forget that He'll provide no matter what happens on this earth. the only reason i get sad is because i expect too much. when in reality, i've already received everything i ever need. His love and His salvation. and i've talked about it before, but it's good to remind ourselves of why we have a joy that doesn't fail, that doesn't fade. we've all received, as Christ followers, everything we've ever needed. we need to keep our eyes on heaven, on Jesus, because that's where are true treasures lie, and that's where we want our hearts' desires to be as well. =]