One of the things that the Lord Jesus taught us to pray is: “Lead us not into temptation.” And I am confident that we could all come up with a long list of temptations that we want nothing to do with. But what about the temptation of riches? Would that be on your list? After all, it is not wrong to be rich. Paul commends rich believers for their generosity in some of his letters. And in 1 Timothy 6, he instructed the rich to “be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”
But the problem with riches is the desire for more. And it is a problem that is frequently and directly addressed in the Bible (Matthew 19:23; Luke 13:22; 1 Tim 6:10 are some examples). And yet, despite these and many other very strong warnings, my guess is that if offered the chance to be rich, many of us would take it in a heartbeat. We think that we would not fall into the trap; that we would be generous; that we would not always be wanting a little bit more.
Well, as part of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).” Modern English versions replace ‘mammon’ with ‘money,’ but the original word has more in view – property, wealth, and/or any other earthly goods that a person trusts in. And this was instruction for Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 5:1). So, for those who know Christ as Saviour and Lord, these words are part of His teaching about Christian living.
The words come at the end of Jesus’ instruction about the Christian’s attitude toward treasure (Matthew 6:19-23). He began it with a negative ‘do not …’ command, to which He attached two reasons, and then He gave a positive ‘do …’ command, to which He attached the reverse of those two reasons.
The negative command is “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” And what He had in view was the ancient (as well as very modern!) practice of accumulating and hoarding goods for current or future use. In Luke 12, Jesus told a parable about a rich man whose land produced riches and he made plans to build bigger barns to store all his goods so that he could “relax, eat, drink, [and] be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” And Jesus ended the parable by saying, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Alongside the spiritual danger of pursuing earthly treasures, Jesus highlighted some very real practical realities in connection with earthly treasures, which are that “moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.” But even if our stuff does not rust or get stolen, you have probably heard these sayings before: “You can’t take it with you when you die.” “You never see a hearse with a trailer.” And while some try and argue that “He who dies with the most toys wins,” the fact is that he is still dead!
Now, just to be clear, Jesus was not saying that having or enjoying things is evil in and of itself. For having warned the rich to not set their hope on their riches and to be generous with their riches, Paul said that God is the one who “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” And Jesus is also not banning buying food in bulk, or buying new clothes, or a house, or having savings in the bank. The Bible praises planning and careful stewardship and savings. In Proverbs 6:6-8 we are pointed to the example of the ant who gathers food for winter in summer, and one of the virtues of the Proverbs 31 woman is that she bought fields and vineyards, and made a profit from the merchandise she sold. Moreover, in 2 Corinthians 12:14, we see that parents are obligated to save for their children. What Jesus is warning against is the godless, selfish accumulation of goods – heaping up possessions and savings beyond one’s ability to enjoy them or spend them. In short, He is forbidding greed, the love of money and possessions, and selfish luxury.
Earlier I mentioned some of the industrious virtues of the Proverbs 31 woman. But a little further on in the description of her virtues we read that “she opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” The Apostle Paul’s instructions to the rich are that they “be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” Jesus called a fool the person who “lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” It is when we fail to be generous to the poor, and when we neglect our duties toward God in order to earn a bit more, that we are laying up for ourselves treasures on earth.
That is why the best way to not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth is by laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, which is the positive command of verse 20. The reasons for which this is wise are that heavenly treasures cannot be eaten by moths, or destroyed by rust, or stolen by thieves in this life, and they also extend to eternal life. Think, for example, from the Beatitudes, of the temporal (now) and eternal (future) blessing that belong to those who pursue mature Christian character. The repeated refrain in the first half of chapter 6 is: Pursue sincere good works, because “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 1 Peter 1:4 speaks of our heavenly rewards in this way: They are “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” However, it is only those who believe these promises who will strive to lay up treasures in heaven. That is precisely what the concluding reason of verse 21 states: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So, what are treasures in heaven? Well, I like how Pastor Dan Doriani answered that question in his commentary on this verse (Reformed Expository Commentary Series). He said,
We lay up treasures in heaven by investing in God’s causes and God’s people. The effects of such investments last forever. We store treasures in heaven by worshiping God, growing in knowledge and grace, and growing in love for God and neighbour. Financially, we store treasures in heaven by using money for kingdom causes, by giving money to the church, to missions, to Christian schools, to the poor. When we store treasures in heaven by investing our money in God’s people, our investment will bear dividends for [now and] eternity.
Every spiritual discipline that you make use of, every spiritual gift that that you work to grow in, every cent that you give to support missions or the poor, every effort you make to be a more godly husband or wife or parent or friend or member of the church or student or employee or employer, will bless others and yourself down here, and is like a talent that the Lord has promised to double in the new heavens and new earth (See Pastor Ben’s article).
But let’s conclude by returning to Jesus’ words: “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and mammon (money).”
One author criticized much of Western Christianity by saying, “We worship our work. We work at our play. And we play at worship.” That’s quite the indictment, isn’t it. Someone else put it like this: Sunday is about God, Monday to Friday is about money, and Saturday is for play. Ouch!
Perhaps some of you have or have had two jobs. And if you have two jobs, you will have two employers. It is possible to do this. I am sure all of us have more than one hobby or sport that we like to do, and it is possible to do this. So, some wonder why we cannot serve God and money? But what is in view in these verses is not paid employment but slavery. And slavery puts you at the beck and call, 24 hours a day, of your master. So, it is not possible to be the slave of two masters. Anyone trying to pull that off will quickly favour one master over the other and be eager to please that master; it simply will not work. So it is with God and money; only one can rule you.
Remember, money is a tricky and sly master. I like how one commentator expressed this; he said
Money is not the kind of god that demands exclusive loyalty or direct worship; no prostration is necessary. Money is a god in a polytheistic land. It just wants a spot in the pantheon; a few other demigods can reside there too: status, power, pleasure. It is satisfied with casual worship and a few holy days.
It is for this reason that Pastor Dan Doriani also said in his commentary that it is a good idea to have this conversation with money every now and then: “Hey, thank you for coming today. Listen, I just wanted to make sure the rules are clear; You shall serve me, not I you. Got it?”
Ultimately, though, ‘our’ money belongs to God and is to be used in His service. We don’t have time for exhaustive treatments of these next two points, but here are two ways we can demonstrate that God is our Master and not money:
The first is by tithing. The bottom line here is that the giving of money that is pleasing to the Lord is giving that is regular, sacrificial and generous (2 Cor. 9:7). But God has provided us with the liberating, guiding, and not burdensome principle of tithing. He says, Give me 10 percent of what you earn. Malachi 3:10: “Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” As those who live on this side of the cross; who know the fulness of salvation in Jesus Christ, with all the blessings that that brings, this is one way we can demonstrate that God is our Master, not money.
The second way is by our joyful obedience of the Fourth Commandment. For, we could work and earn seven days a week. But God says, “Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work …” So, while there is necessary employment that requires some people to work on Sundays, like emergency services, farming, and health care, etc, this is not the case with most jobs. So, to honour the Lord, get it written into your employment contract that you are not available to work on Sundays. And listen to what God promises to those who honour Him by not working on His day: “Then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 58:14).”
As those who have been united with Christ through faith, we live in covenant relationship with God. And God is a faithful covenant head. He has promised to provide us with every necessary physical provision, for as long as He has work for us to do. He has also promised to reward us in the next life. And He keeps His promises. It is we who struggle to be faithful to Him. We can let money and things loom larger in our affections than they ought to, which means that He and His things fade into the background. So, let us pray for a heart focused on Him and the laying up of heavenly treasures. And let us pray that He would “lead us not into temptation,” including the sinful pursuit of riches.
Mr Andre Holtslag is the minister of the Avondale Reformed Church.
