“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.”
Matthew 6:19-21
For where your treasure is, there’s where your Heart is also
These are powerful words of truth that we rather not hear about. I am fully aware that I might lose some readers because I’m touching “the dough”. For those of you that might be reading in the UK, Australia, or other parts of the globe, in America: “the dough”, is a slang for: “The money”.
Well, as we all know, the Bible is very clear about this in Timothy 6:10, when it says that money is the root of all evil. Does that mean that we are going to go out running to the bank, and burn all the money that we have? Of course not! There is nothing wrong with money, just like there is nothing wrong with you holding a gun in your hands; the problem is: “What you do with it”.
In the United States, there is a popular saying that goes like this: “What Would Jesus Do?” I don’t know if this phrase is used in other parts of the world, but it is so popular in the States that there are souvenirs, like stickers, keychains and so on, with the acronyms: “WWJD”, which obviously stands for: “What Would Jesus Do?”.
This phrase is used when we are faced with a difficult decision and we don’t know what to do, so we ask ourselves that question: What would Jesus do if he was here? We meditate on that, and usually, the answer should be that path we should take to make the correct decision.
Well, I don’t care much for those types of phrases that come out from time to time, but meditating on this phrase, I began to wonder if we could apply it to the question of how we, as Christians, should view money, or to be more specific; How our hearts feel about our belongings and treasures. So the big question is; what would Jesus do if he was you?
Let’s see where Jesus’ heart is...
“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:17-23
“And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” This is the key phrase for this message. As we can see, this rich man had done everything right since his youth: He did not lie; he did not commit adultery; he honored his father and mother; etc.
In other words: “He was a very good Christian”, but I guess that wasn’t enough. This is one of the passages of the Bible that we don’t even want to talk about because it sounds so difficult to comprehend, it is insane; who would do such thing? I don’t think that you would do it.
I don’t know anybody that would sell everything that they have and give the money to those in need. So then what? Is this passage and the word of the Lord just a fairy tale? Was he serious when he told this man to give it all up? But the question is: What do you think?
Think about it for a second; would you do it? Would you sell everything that you have, and give it to the poor? I don’t think that there are many pastors preaching on that; otherwise, they would have empty churches. Well, hold this thought for a moment, and let’s look at another important passage from the Bible; let’s enter into the mind of our Lord Jesus Christ:
“And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:19-20
Now, let’s think about this for a second. This man, the scribe, came to the Lord with the hope of following him, but maybe he thought that he was going to be received with a big “Welcome”, maybe he thought that the Lord was going to be happy to hear what he said, but he did not get that warm welcome from the Lord; instead, he got a “cold bucket of water”; in other words, he got a piece of reality.
He said to the Lord: “I will follow you wherever you go”, and the Lord told him: “Even the animals have a place to live, but I don’t have a pillow to lay my head on.” In other words, he told him: “You say that you are going to follow me wherever I go, come with me, but know that we will be sleeping in the wilderness; no comfort at all, if you are going to be next to me, you will also be cold with me when it’s cold and hot, when it’s hot”.
How many times have you read this passage of the Bible? How many times have you heard messages on it? Maybe if you did, it was twisted with some clever excuse, justifying the words of the Lord to make them softer and more acceptable; also, it must have been a real brief message because preachers are more interested in teaching you about your well-being.
About receiving miracles of healing; about solving your financial situation so they can keep you happy and content, and therefore, you will keep on filling up their pockets; isn’t it? That’s their way to keep you following “the dead gospel that they preach”, but go tell that to Jesus, go tell him that you will follow him wherever he goes. (WWJTY) What Would Jesus Tell You?
Let’s get real, and let’s get down to earth. Let me ask you a question, and I want you to answer it to yourself, but be real. Do you really think that those passages are just “Biblical fairy tales”? Do you really believe that story? Only you would know what the answer is.
But I surely tell you that most of us read these passages, and even though, we do not say anything, we find them hard to believe them in our hearts. Now, going back to the rich man, let’s read again: “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor.”
Why is it so hard to understand this command? Is it because these are rough words? Of course, they are! People don’t want to hear this message, people come to follow Christ because they think that he is going to solve their problems, and that’s why they continue to come to church every single Sunday morning.
But we need to understand that following Christ means to leave everything behind, to start a brand new life; this doesn’t mean that you have to give everything up and go to Africa to preach the gospel. You would have to have a calling if you were to do that, but in all reality, all of us have been called to renounce to everything, whether this is done physically or in the heart.
Think about this powerful phrase: “What you surrender on Earth is what you will gain in Heaven.” Whatever you give up for the sake of the gospel of salvation in this Earth, will be returned to you a thousand times in the eternal life, but you need a purpose, you need a strong motive in order to give it all up, and sometimes that’s what we do not have.
How many earthly possessions do you have? It doesn’t matter because to you, owning 3 homes and 2 cars, maybe your treasure, but for others, owning a bed and a bicycle, maybe their treasure; either way, what we have been called to do, is to give it all up; whatever you have on this earth means nothing at all.
The Spirit moves and sees our hearts, and finds strong chains binding us; there is a stronghold that is keeping us from surrendering to Christ completely; as it is written: You cannot serve two masters, so it is time for you to choose today; either we choose this earthly life, and continue the same as we always have been, or we will choose what is eternal, and surrender ourselves completely.
Think about the words that we read a few minutes ago, and meditate on them for a moment. We cannot take only what is convenient for us; the Word of God is clear as the water that you drink. You have no other choice, there are only two ways: either you build your treasures on Earth, or in Heaven… (WWYD) What Would You Do? Where is your heart?
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