Working for More than Money

Working for More than Money
Matthew 6: 19 – 24.

Introduction.

When I was pastor in Mississippi, one of my church members told a story I plan to remember for the rest of my life.  This man had been good friends with his pastor when he lived in a different town.  One day, he was driving past the pastor’s house and saw the pastor outside mowing his grass.  He pulled over in front of the house and waited for the pastor to come over to his truck.  He rolled his window down and said, “Preacher, you have two teenage sons.  Can’t you get one of those sons to mow the grass for you?”

The pastor answered, “In my line of work, this is the only thing I do all week long, that at the end of the day, I can tell I have accomplished something.”

This is the reason why I mow my own yard.  I don’t necessarily enjoy working in 100 degree temperatures in August.  I don’t enjoy the way the grass makes my legs and arms itch the next day.  But, I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish mowing and sweeping off the driveway.  In fact, when I finished mowing Tuesday night, I sat down in the driveway and looked around at my completed work.

Now, I am not so arrogant to think that my work as a pastor is much different from the work other people do.  In fact, I think a lot of people can relate to my story.  You go to work, Monday through Friday…you work hard every day, all week long…then, at the end of the week, you aren’t sure you have anything to show what you have done.  The work never seems to be complete.

Most people get paid for their work, Monday through Friday.  And, money is a good reward.  After all, we have to have money to live.  But sometimes, money is not enough.  We need to feel like we are making progress, accomplishing something, or making a difference in the world.

I am truly thankful that I love my job as a pastor.  I believe that God has called me, and there is nothing else I would rather do.  However, you do not have to be a pastor to feel that God has called you and equipped you for your work.  God wants you to feel satisfied in your work / career.  God wants you to work for more than just money.  Your work can be an expression of your love for God and your love for other people.

Jesus has something to say about working for more than money in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6: 19 – 24.

This Scripture is a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus addresses several important themes in his Sermon on the Mount.  Ultimately it is a sermon about the Kingdom of God…or, we might say the reign of God.  God becomes the King by becoming the King of our lives individually.  The Kingdom of God becomes manifest on earth when individual Christian men and women are transformed by God’s Kingship within us.  When God is our King, it changes the way we live our lives.  It changes the way we pray, the way we use financial resources, and the way we serve other people.  It changes our private lives and our public lives.  We might even say it changes our spiritual lives and our secular lives.  The only problem with that last statement is the fact that Christians don’t have secular lives.

Everything we do in private is done in the presence of God.  Everything we do in public is done in the presence of God.  Everything we do in church is done in the presence of God.  Everything we do at work, school or home is done in the presence of God.  God is equally concerned with how we live in public and in private.  Christians are not supposed to draw a distinction between the spiritual and the secular.  Everywhere we go, we are in the presence of God.  Therefore, everything we do is done in the presence of God.

Jesus’ teaching here is organized around three illustrations.  All three of these illustrations can be described as contrasts or as a choice between two opposites:  treasures on earth versus treasures in heaven; good eyes versus bad eyes; and Lord God versus lord money. 

Matthew 6: 19 – 21… 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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

People in the ancient world did not use money, banking and investments like we do today.  The most valuable things to ancient people were precious metals and fine clothing or fabrics.  These treasures were vulnerable to at least three enemies.  Fabrics could be eaten by moths.  Metals could rust or corrode in the desert heat.  And, all treasures were vulnerable to thieves. 

If you think about it, modern day treasures are also vulnerable.  Of course, we use pesticides to get rid of insects.  We use climate controlled storage to reduce the threat of corrosion.  However, theft continues to be a problem.  In addition to theft, we also face the effects of inflation, depreciation, the strength of the U.S. dollar on the international market as well as devaluation from market fluctuation. 

The ultimate worth of your treasure depends on where it is stored.  Any treasure stored on earth is vulnerable.  It is perishable and cannot last forever.  Yet, treasures stored in heaven are neither vulnerable nor perishable.  Treasures stored in heaven are the only treasures that can stand the test of time.

What is the difference between earthly treasure and heavenly treasure?  Earthly treasure includes anything that has value on earth.  Money, gold, diamonds, houses, cars, stocks, investment funds…  All earthly treasure can depreciate in value or it can be stolen.  By contrast, heavenly treasure includes anything that has value in heaven.  These treasures have eternal value, will never depreciate in value, and cannot be stolen from you.  Heavenly treasure should be defined in broad terms as anything that lasts forever.  We could argue that salvation is a heavenly treasure.  However, Jesus was speaking to his disciples who were already saved.  Salvation is a heavenly treasure, but this is not all Jesus is talking about.  Jesus also has in mind treasures like: holiness, obedience, serving others, souls won to Christ, and disciples nurtured in their faith.

The key to understanding Jesus’ words is not the definition of “treasure.”  I believe the key is what is meant by “storing up.”  I believe this refers to accumulating resources.  When we accumulate earthly treasure we risk losing all we have.  In Jesus’ economy, only heavenly treasures are to be stored up.  Earthly treasures are to be used while we are on earth.

Accumulating resources is not the same thing as saving for the future.  Christians should save for the future.  Accumulating resources is not the same thing as making a lot of money in order to provide for our personal needs and the needs of our families.  Christians should work and earn money for ourselves and our families.  Accumulating resources is being stingy and greedy and covetous with earthly treasure.

This is perhaps the greatest threat to American Christianity.  We spend a lot of our time thinking about the implications of the growing Islamic population and the complacency of the church.  However, we need to worry about how we are using our earthly resources.  Earthly treasure is not intended for accumulation.  It is intended to be used to the glory of God and for the pursuit of God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 6: 22 – 23… "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

This illustration has always confused me for two reasons.  First, I don’t understand what Jesus is saying.  Second, it doesn’t seem to fit well in this context.  Jesus began by talking about money and ended by talking about money.  In the middle, it seems that he is talking about the difference between good eyes and bad eyes.

However, it does make sense when we realize that the Bible often uses the eye figuratively and connects it to the heart.  The eyes reveal the condition of the heart.  We also see this same concept in the expression “fix your eyes on” something.  A person fixes his or her eyes on the thing that is most important to them.  The eyes reveal the heart by showing our ambitions.

Jesus did not literally say the words “good” and “bad” in describing human eyes.  The word “good” is literally the word “single.”  “If your eyes are single, your whole body will be full of light.”  The word “bad” is literally the word “evil.”  “But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.”  Since “light” and “darkness” are opposites, it seems that Jesus intends for us to interpret “single” and “evil” as opposites as well.

The “evil eye” is a concept that was familiar to Jesus’ ancient audience.  It is still a familiar concept in the Near Eastern world.  The evil eye does not refer to witchcraft or a hex.  It refers to covetousness, stinginess, greed and theft.  A person who looks at you with an evil eye is a person who wants to take your stuff.

This contrast becomes more apparent to us when we realize that the Greek word for “single” is a form of the Greek word “generous.”  In other words, this is what Jesus was saying: “If your eyes are generous, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eyes are covetous, stingy or greedy, your whole body will be full of darkness.” 

Jesus is talking about money and possessions!  This is how we “store up” treasures in heaven.  The answer is the way we use our earthly resources.  We can be generous, or we can be stingy and greedy.  The generous person serves God with their entire life—not just on Sunday mornings.  The stingy and greedy person thinks only about their own life—and one day wakes up and finds that all their resources have deteriorated, depreciated and have been lost.

Matthew 6: 24… "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.

This is an illustration from slavery.  Slavery is a repulsive institution to us today.  However, this was an important part of the ancient culture.  It was so important that the New Testament is filled with imagery and illustrations about slavery.  In fact, the Bible teaches us that all humans will be slaves to something.  We can be slaves to sin, death, fear, or to Jesus.

Here, Jesus says we can be slaves either to God or to money.  This is a choice between the Creator or the creation.  You and I are going to be slaves to something.  But, we get to choose our master. 

Imagine what a difficult situation it would be for a slave to have two masters.  The relationship would work fine as long as both masters agreed.  Yet, it would be impossible for the slave to meet the demands of two masters who were making opposite demands.  God and money are not usually in agreement.  They make opposing demands.

The literal word translated “money” in this Scripture is the word mammon.  Mammon includes money, but it is much broader than that.  It includes money and all earthly possessions.  Basically, it refers to anything of value…Anything money can buy.

Jesus is not saying we should not have money and possessions.  This is what I think Jesus is saying…  It’s OK to have possessions.  It’s not OK for your possessions to have you.  It’s OK to save money.  It’s not OK to think money can save you.

Do you wonder why the words “In God We Trust” appear on all of our money?  I think it is there to remind us not to worship money.  It’s like a sermon “to go” carried around in your wallet.  Every time you buy a cup of coffee, a hamburger, a new car or a new house, there is a reminder.  Money cannot save you.  Only God can save.  Only God should be worshipped and trusted as Lord.

Conclusion.

Jewish author Elie Weisel is famous for writing about his experience in Auschwitz, a German concentration camp during World War 2.  Weisel was taken captive along with both of his parents, his brother and his sister.  His father and sister did not survive.

In his memoir, All Rivers Run to the Sea, Weisel described the pain and suffering he experienced in Auschwitz.  He also made observations about the people who survived and who did not survive. 

In his first few months in the concentration camp, he watched the other prisoners as they were struggling to survive.  He noticed that many of the people who died had one thing in common.  They had no one to live for beyond themselves.  They selfishly ate all of their food, drank all of their water and kept to themselves.

The ones who survived were the ones who shared their food and water and did everything they could to preserve the lives of others.

This is what made all the difference for Weisel’s experience in Auschwitz.  He survived, because he was not focused on himself.  He was not trying to preserve his own life.  He wanted to live for his mother.

People who go to work only to make more money and to accumulate more possessions are only living for themselves.  This is a selfish existence and a life where money is lord.

Christians are supposed to be different.  As Christians, we do not live for ourselves… we do not work for money as our lord…we work for Jesus as our Lord.