These Sayings of Mine – Seek the Kingdom of God (Part 1)

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not [the] life more than food and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25

As you can see, the first verse of our next saying begins with the word “therefore”, meaning “for that reason or cause”. The Holy Spirit uses “therefore” often and strategically throughout the Bible to connect dependent thoughts and assertions into a pathway of truth and faith. Therefore, let’s quickly review the saying of Matthew 6:22-24 (Get Focused and Stay Focused):

1. Your heart will be drawn to the place where you have laid up your treasure.
2. Singular focus on God allows light to flood our entire being. Allowing distraction invites darkness and deception.
3. If you serve mammon (i.e., riches and its supporting systems), you will despise God.

This last point should be quite sobering (if not frightening) for all Christians – particularly for the 21^st Century Western church, where riches are abundant and abundantly deceitful (Mark 4:18-19).

Our omniscient God, foreseeing the dilemma, has provided the way for our deliverance and the key to our finding the truly abundant life of His kingdom. Spoilers: They are not the same.

Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

At this point, a bit of confusion is understandable; along with a bit of resistance. How do you buy stuff without money? Isn’t wealth a measure of abundance? And why would someone exchange the abundance of this life for a life they cannot see?

Most of us are not risk takers, at least not with the abundance we have been taught to hold so dear. Better safe than sorry, right? “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” comes to mind (but that’s probably my carnal mind speaking).

These Sayings of Mine – Get Focused and Stay Focused

If you have been following along with this series, you have by now realized that the Sermon on the Mount is about more than following a list of do’s and don’ts. Oh, it could be understood and taught that way, but Jesus is after more than checklist obedience. He came to save that which was lost, to build His church, and to commission disciples. He intends to lead us, make us, and use us to make others.

Such a life requires more than passive or casual compliance. Disciples are disciplined, focused on the mission, and focused on one Master.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:22-24

Every once in a while, the translators get it wrong. Here in the NKJV, they have translated the Greek word haplous as “good”. Haplous is not translated as “good” anywhere else in the New Testament. It seems they chose “good” as the opposite of “bad”. This is understandable, but it does not do justice to the meaning of this saying.

The primary meaning of haplous is “simple” or “single”. The KJV uses “single”. On the surface, it does not make sense that the opposite of bad is single. However, it makes perfect sense in the context of the verse that follows (i.e., no one can serve two masters).

Jesus chose His words carefully. An eye that is not singularly focused is bad. Therefore, we can understand this passage to be saying, “If your eye is not singularly focused, your whole body will be full of darkness.”

These Sayings of Mine – Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 3)

This saying of Jesus, now in its third part, has gotten more attention than most of the previous ones for a couple of reasons. Personally, this saying has been especially challenging in my life. I was raised to save for my retirement, and the world has only encouraged that approach for my future security. I am not suggesting that saving is wrong (we covered that in Part 2), but God is using this bit of writing to test my heart.

Secondly, I have a responsibility as a disciple of Jesus Christ to make disciples through my writing. I am hopeful that He is using this to test and prove your heart; for Satan, the world and our carnal mind have deceived us in regards to this matter of laying up treasures for ourselves.

If you have not explored the “do not” of part 1 and part 2, you should do that before proceeding here. The process and its order are important. Once we have dealt with the deception of earthly treasures, we can turn our attention to the second part of this saying – the part we are to do.

Again, for our reference:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

An Eternal Perspective

One of the greatest inhibitors to our hearing and doing this saying is our lack of faith and perspective for eternity. Let’s face it: Most of us spend the greater part of our lives laying up wealth so we can enjoy the last feeble portion of our seventy or eighty years here on earth. We are so focused on investing for retirement that we fail to lay up for that portion of our life that is immeasurable in its duration.

These Sayings of Mine – Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 2)

One way to avoid doing what Jesus is saying is to avoid hearing it in the first place. However, this avoidance strategy does not make us less liable; nor our houses less susceptible to the storms of life. God will not have us live this way. He cares too much for our salvation and well-being (Luke 6:24).

That seems to be God’s purpose in these articles: to encourage our hearing, that we might grow in faith, trusting Him to provide the grace for our obedience. So, let’s press in to hear, that we might do (and not do) according to Jesus’ saying about our treasures.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

What are Your Earthly Treasures?

Part 1 encouraged a pause for reflection and prayer, particularly around this question: What are the treasures you have laid up or treasured on earth? If you have not done so, please read Part 1 and invest the time necessary to hear from our Father in heaven.

As we press in to hear what the Father and Jesus are saying, it will be helpful to clear away the clutter. For example, you may say, “I treasure my wife and kids.” While that is a good thing to say, it is not the treasure Jesus is talking about. Wives and kids are not something that moths and rust can destroy, nor thieves break in and steal. Someone else may say, “I treasure the time I have with my wife and kids.” This too is off the mark; for time cannot be laid up for later use.

I bring this up to make a point: The meaning of “treasure” in our culture is not quite the same as the treasure Jesus is speaking of here. As much as we might prefer to talk about something else, the treasure Jesus is talking about is our wealth.

Thinking about Wealth: God’s Eternal Economy

The following is an addendum to An Enemy Lies Within, where, in the section on liberating others, we expose several ways Christians in America are being deceived by their carnal mind. Here, we address the way God views wealth and His prescription for investing it.

Warning: this will be one of the most threatening articles we have written. The reader will be tempted to dismiss it as impractical nonsense. Be encouraged: God is the wisest wealth manager and investment counselor. More importantly, He loves His children and knows what they need before they ask. Hear Him out on this; His objective is your highest return on the investment He has made in you.

As we begin, let’s first address the notion of wealth. Because we are community people – members of the Body of Christ and one another – it is important that we consider wealth relationally. Wealth is a relative consideration. Some of God’s people are wealthier than others, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. We learn in the Parable of the Talents that God entrusts more to some than to others (Matthew 25:14-30). Furthermore, Jesus instructs us that “to whom much is given, from Him much will be required (Luke 12:48)”. In His sovereign omniscience, God determines the amount of wealth each one should have.

So, who is wealthy among you? Let’s take a look at some surprising statistics. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the average net worth of all U.S. families is $692,100. Using the calculator provided by the Global Rich List, we discover that the average American family is worth more than 98.74% of everyone else in the world. Using the more conservative median figure ($97,300) puts the average American in the top 8.31% wealthiest people in the world (i.e., wealthier than over 91%).

The statistics relative to income are even more startling. A U.S. worker making the federally mandated minimum wage ($7.25/hour) earns more salary than 92.2% of workers in the rest of the world. The statistics don’t lie: American Christians are rich.

Given these statistics, it is easy to understand why Christians should be giving more careful attention to the way we manage our wealth. Jesus put it this way:

There are Choices to Make

I am old enough now to sense my time in this temporal world coming to a close. I may have 20 (or 30) more years left to produce the fruits of righteousness – to make a significant impact for the kingdom of God. That is half (or less) of the time I have already been here… and there is so much more I want to walk in for my Lord, my Father’s glory, and my future usefulness in eternity. I do not have a particular expectation; although, I will confess a strong desire for experience of the greater than life all believers have been promised (John 14:12).

I am grateful that my current work does not require good knees and shoulders; I am just a pen. More than anything, I find solace knowing He has numbered my days and has a plan to glorify Himself with this vessel, instrument, and weapon. I am concerned that I may have disqualified myself from some great exploit – and may continue to do so. I truly do not want to leave anything on the road (as cyclists say). God help me!!

The closer I get to the end, the more important choices become – not just the ones I am forced to make, but those that I may be avoiding. To know what to do and to not do it is as much a sin as doing something that you know you should not. Furthermore, I suspect my carnal mind has a way of distracting me, not only from what I know to do, but from seeking to know what I should. It concerns me that this latter distraction is akin to not having “the love of the truth” that saves (2Thessalonians 2:9-11).

In my study of the carnal mind, I discovered that its development has been much helped by the environment in which I have been raised. From my formative years, I have been inculcated into the American mindset and dependence on its systems. It is important to recognize that much of what we think as Americans has been adopted by the church here as christianly thinking, without much thinking at all.

Objective consideration should at least give one pause, if not fear, regarding the eternal ramifications of an Americanized gospel. For example, how are Christian’s supposed to think about wealth? Should it not get more of our attention – particularly since we are the wealthiest nation in the world?

The cancer of materialism – America’s “gift” to the Church

For the love of money is a root of all the evils, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1Timothy 6:10

Materialism is a mindset that substitutes the things of this world for the promises of God. This includes security, comfort, peace, joy, etc. In the Scriptures, materialism is called by another name:  Idolatry.

The use of “wandered” – in the verse above – is interesting. In the Greek, it means “to go astray, stray away from”.  It is a passive action; like a child wandering away from his mother.

In other words, materialism is not something we actively set our minds to pursue, like adultery or murder. It comes to us like an unseen toxin or cancer, many times wrap in attractive packaging. We don’t have to ask for materialism; it is an active agent – a catalyst for many kinds of sin.

Most American Christians are born into materialism. It is a big part of our culture – an inherent measure of the American Dream. “Keeping up with the Joneses”, once viewed as a negative pursuit, has now become an obligation. Homeowners’ association and our kids demand it. We have been deceived into thinking that making our neighbors and children happy is a redeeming activity. In reality, it is simply an excuse to procure more stuff.

From a Romanian pastor: “In my experience, 95% of the believers who face the test of external persecution pass it, while 95% of those who face the test of prosperity fail it!” Church leaders in China are recognizing the same threat. While persecution serves as a catalyst for church growth, China’s newfound prosperity is drawing believers away.

Assuming that Americans are somehow immune to this disease is both arrogant and dangerous – for ourselves and our children. To avoid or break free from the poison of materialism, we must recognize and respect it as our enemy. We must set our minds against it.

Once we acknowledge the potential for brokenness in the set of our mind, we become free and empowered to a healthy suspicion of the way we think and the affect that thinking has on our hearts. At this point, we must be particularly cautious.

These Sayings of Mine – Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 2)

One way to avoid doing what Jesus is saying is to avoid hearing it in the first place. However, this avoidance strategy does not make us less liable; nor our houses less susceptible to the storms of life. God will not have us live this way. He cares too much for our salvation and well-being (Luke 6:24).

That seems to be God’s purpose in these articles – to encourage our hearing; that we might grow in faith – trusting Him to provide the grace to do what Jesus is saying. So, let’s press in to hear, that we might do (and not do). For our reference, here is the saying we are trying to hear.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

What are Your Earthly Treasures?

Part 1 encouraged a pause for reflection and prayer; particularly around this question: What are the treasures you have laid up, or treasured, on earth? If you have not done so, please read Part 1; and heed its encouragement.

These Sayings of Mine – Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 1)

Some sayings of Jesus are not very difficult to hear or do. For example, Do Not Swear at All. Others are easy to hear, but difficult to do (Be Extraordinary; Be Perfect). Then there are those that are difficult to do, simply because we have a hard time hearing them. Our next saying of Jesus is a good case in point.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

This saying is particularly hard to hear for those in the church that are tempted – and even presently deceived – by the American Dream. Consequently, I am concerned that I may lose a few of you on this one. To be honest, I may lose myself. It is a hard saying; probably one that Jesus used to drive away those that were less than serious about following Him.

So, before you turn away, let me encourage you: We are all in process; and our heavenly Father is sensitive to our place in the race. Consequently, this passage may not mean to you what it means to me – but it must mean something. Rather than run away from its meaning, trust God to reveal what you are to hear; and to give you the grace to do it.

A Storm is Coming – Investing in His Kingdom

The vast majority of the articles God uses me to write are to encourage, edify and equip. This one is different. It may encourage, edify and equip you; but that is not my primary intent. I am writing it because I need your help; help in discerning what God is trying to say to me, and to the body of Christ, about our wealth and the coming storm. I am writing with the hope of hearing the LORD’s voice in community.

To begin, let me establish a baseline for the meaning of “wealth”. Here are some statistics that I have heard over the past few years:

1. Those living at or above the poverty line in America are in the 95^th percentile of the wealthiest people in the world. In other words, 95% of the people in the world live on less than the poverty level in America.
2. Similarly, those that live at or above the median American income are in the 99^th percentile of the wealthiest people in the world.

The vast majority of Americans are “wealthy” when compared to the rest of the world – including most of our Christian brethren. These stats don’t tell the whole story, but they do help us appreciate what God has entrusted to those of us that live in this nation.

Now, there are two particular passages of Scripture that have been haunting me for the last few years.