From Christ's Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 6:19-24
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Years ago, I heard a pastor exclaim, “If you have money, give it away!” After examining Scripture and its pattern on the subject of wealth, I understand his sentiment. Yes, we should be wise in terms of saving and investing, but idol worship usually manifests in relation to hoarding money and material; enough is never enough. A false sense of security is often linked to ever-growing retirement accounts. However, stewardship involves using resources to glorify God and obey Him (Proverbs 3:9). When we do not provide our first fruits to the Kingdom, money becomes the master.
How we spend our financial and material resources speaks volumes of what our hearts treasure. For example, if Christ-followers have excess, they will identify the need to invest it in God’s kingdom. Yet, this directly conflicts with the prosperity gospel that encourages self-focus: desiring, chasing, and displaying riches. Usually, biblical statements about money are difficult for American Christians to accept because of the affluence of the U.S. But Matthew 6:19-24 is part of a larger biblical message on the issue of money. Jesus tells us that earthly wealth is a bad investment compared to the eternal riches of heaven. Furthermore, wealth comes with numerous biblical warnings; Scripture presents a definitive theme.
Realistically, wealth requires energy to retain. I have rarely met a wealthy person who did not spend all their time managing and acquiring it. I know this personally. Earlier in my life, I fell into the pit of working to acquire excess material, which required a substantial daily effort that superseded everything else in my life. Thankfully, God has rearranged my priorities.
The Christian who can possess wealth and place it below God does exist but is indeed rare. For most, however, earthly abundance provides real dangers. Many like to assume that riches are always a blessing, but attained abundance is more times than not a distraction from Yahweh (Matthew 4:8-10). In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus describes the deceitfulness of wealth as He likens it to thorns that choke out the Word for people consumed by the world. Believers must remember that when God gives wealth to His children, it is for Kingdom purposes.
Based on these observations, we can understand Jesus' statement, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Matthew 6:24)." Perhaps in Christian America, money is one of the most significant obstacles to denying ourselves, picking up our crosses, and following Christ consistently and daily. It prevents many from relying on the Lord in childlike faith.
Lastly, the Apostle James states, “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court (James 2:5-6)?” Being rich in faith supplants worldly material in the Kingdom’s terms. Eternal blessings come in the form of obedience, humility, and love. Trust in the Lord is more precious than gold. So, may we pray for an abundance of faith vs. an abundance of money!
Proverbs 3:9
Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce.
Proverbs 11:4
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
Proverbs 23:4-5
Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.
Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 13:22
"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."
Matthew 19:21
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Mark 10:25
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Hebrews 13:5
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
James 5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
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