SM #35: Treasures In Heaven

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and devouring destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and devouring do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ JESUS (Matthew 6:19-21)

SUMMARY: Read this and skip the rest (if you want)

• All of Matthew chapter 6 is tied together by the theme of looking to God for our reward, treasure, and security.

• The rest of the chapter will focus on: The Two Treasures (6:19-21), The Two Eyes (6:22-23), The Two Masters (6:24), and The Two Anxieties (6:25-34).

• Jesus not only says that our heart will direct our actions, but also the reverse: our habits will shape our hearts. Where we direct our attention will, over time, shape who we become.

• Treasures in heaven are ultimately the people and relationships we will take with us.

• Early Christians, some forms of Catholic and Protestant expressions, and Anabaptists have practiced intentional simplicity as a high value for Christian discipleship.

• Practical suggestions and next steps are discussed.

Prefer to learn by listening? Click the picture link for an AI audio overview.

CORE

(The heart of the message)

Becoming disciples of Jesus will include reevaluating our relationship with money and materialism. In our capitalist society, where greed often fuels growth, few topics will demand more commitment to live counter-culturally.

CONTEXT

(What’s going on before and after this passage)

Our passage, Matthew 6:19-21, serves a dual purpose: it concludes the first half of chapter 6 while simultaneously introducing the second half. This double-duty role makes this paragraph particularly significant. As theologian Jonathan T. Pennington notes in The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, "With 6:19-21 we are going down the other side of the Sermon's mountain, having reached the apex with the Prayer."

We are now heading into an extended section of the sermon - the rest of chapter 6 - that covers what seems to be a very important topic for Jesus: the importance of people over possessions, relationships over resources.

To say that people are more important than things seems axiomatic, like our response should be "Uh, duh, Jesus. Who doesn't know this?" But the truth is, most of us don't live like it much of the time. We clamour for more and more stuff, and often walk over or ignore hurting people in order to get it. What we say we believe and how we live are out of alignment. And Jesus wants to help us become our true selves, the selves we really want to be.

"Jesus taught more about wealth than about any other social issue - more than marriage, politics, work, sex, or power. His teaching about money stands in a discussion of discipleship and loyalty to God." ~ Daniel M. Doriani (Reformed Expository Commentary)

So we will take the next three studies to cover variations of this topic, which stretches over the rest of Matthew chapter 6.

Jesus has finished teaching about secret spiritual practices and avoiding using our faith to feed our ego. A key theme in that discussion of giving, praying, and fasting has been the idea of "reward" - seeking our reward from the Father rather than from other people. Before that Jesus also mentioned the idea of "reward" when talking about suffering persecution (Matthew 5:12) and loving our enemies (Matthew 5:46). Now Jesus builds on this theme, moving from the image of reward to treasure, and from focusing on our relationship with the Father to our relationship with the world around us.

Then, after this passage, Jesus will go on to talk about overcoming anxiety through dependence on God. He will highlight that often our worry and anxiety is exacerbated by the stuff we own and are afraid to lose.

So all of Matthew chapter 6 is held together by one overarching theme: receiving real reward and finding true treasure. This entire chapter is all about bending our hearts away from the temporal and toward the eternal.

We could map out the rest of Matthew 6 this way:

A. The Two Treasures (6:19-21)

B. The Two Eyes (6:22-23)

C. The Two Masters (6:24)

D. The Two Anxieties (6:25-34)

Most of the rest of Matthew 6 is also covered in a few different places in the Gospel of Luke, (e.g., Luke 11:34-36; 12:15-34; 16:13) so we can also check Luke's record for double clarity when needed.

Later in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will ask the question, "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Matthew 16:26). Then he will tell a rich, young, ruler to sell everything he has and give it to the poor and he will have "treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:16-26). And Luke records that when visiting Zacchaeus the tax collector, Jesus pronounces salvation upon him when he sees Zacchaeus change his heart toward money, possessions, and people (Luke 19:1-9).

We also learn that, whatever other reasons may have been at play, greed is a significant motivating factor in Judas' betrayal of Jesus. When he approaches the chief priests, Judas has one question: “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” (Matthew 26:15).

As an aside, on the topic of Judas, this song gets to me...

Our attitude toward material wealth is not a peripheral concern to Jesus. Rather, it is a central aspect of how we live as Kingdom citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors.

"It is arguable that materialism is the single biggest competitor with authentic Christianity for the hearts and souls of millions in our world today." ~ Craig Blomberg (Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions)

Jesus pronounced salvation upon Zacchaeus based on one piece of evidence: his changed relationship with money.

CONSIDER

(Observations about the passage)

Do not. This prohibition is present tense, saying "Stop storing up for yourselves". Jesus is not just warning us about a practice we might do, he is telling us to stop something he knows we are already doing. Jesus knows us intimately. The impulse to put our trust in the accumulation of things seems to be a universal human tendency. Jesus is not just addressing people who are rich or hoarders, but all of us.

Store up for yourselves. Jesus is challenging the Church as a whole (plural pronouns) when he tells us to focus on people more than possessions. The verb "store up" (thésaurizó) is just the verb form of "treasure" (thésauros, from which we get our English word "Thesaurus", a treasury of words). Jesus is saying, do not treasure your treasures, do not value your valuables, do not put stock in your stocks or bond with your bonds. "For yourselves" suggests that material possessions are not wrong, per se, but can become wrong when pursued for our own ego-enhancement. This can happen to people of any income. Someone may be wealthy, live in a nice house and drive a nice car, and still be very generous with giving people rides and hosting visitors in their home. And someone else may be poor, but stingy with everything they own. This isn't just a rebuke for the rich, but for all of us when our priorities are misaligned. Jesus is talking about the value we give things, not their estimated market value. We inappropriately treasure temporal things when we let anything we own or want to own interfere with our radical generosity. These earthly treasures may be valuable in the world's eyes, or they may only be valuable to us because of things like status, security, or sentiment.

Treasures on earth. A reference to anything we value in this life that has only temporary, temporal significance. This would include possessions, money, and material things. But it also includes stuff like our reputation, education, status, travel, appearance, fitness level, and fashion sense. None of these things are bad, they just aren't ultimate. There is a tension between this New Covenant emphasis of Jesus and the Old Covenant emphasis of Moses. Read Deuteronomy 28 for instance and you will get the distinct impression that obedience to God will bring material, physical, and national prosperity. So, to be blessed in business and family and health and security would feel like signs of God's approval of our personal righteousness. But Jesus challenges this prosperity narrative, shifting our understanding of true blessing from material abundance to a deeper, more enduring spiritual flourishing and relational richness. In light of this, sometimes treasures on earth are more of a curse than a blessing.

“Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is finding his place in it, while really it is finding its place in him.”

~ C.S. Lewis (The Screwtape Letters)

Moths and Devouring and Thieves. Jesus uses three examples to drive a point home - the impermanence of everything we accumulate in this life. In the category of "stuff", nothing really matters. In the category of "relationship", everything matters. The stuff of this world lacks staying power. Relationships are eternal. The Greek word for "moth" could refer to a bug that eats garments or books. Their larva were the original bookworms. The Greek word for "devouring" (brósis) literally means eating or consuming. Various translations of this verse say "vermin", or "consuming insect", or even "rust". In this context, the word simply refers to anything that eats away at something else. It could be the rusting of metal or mold on crops or rats chewing away on our stored food or termites eating at the foundation of our homes. The moths and devouring (rust, rot, or vermin) "destroy" our stuff. This word for "destroy" (aphanizó, to make unseen, hide, or destroy) was used earlier to talk about the hypocrites "hiding" or "disfiguring" their faces when fasting. The wordplay helps connect this passage with what comes before it while also functioning to set up what comes in the rest of chapter 6, making this a pivotal bridge paragraph. Between moths eating holes in our good garments or books (the destruction of nature), rats, rot, or rust devouring our possessions (the destruction of time), and thieves stealing the rest (the destruction of people), Jesus is using vivid imagery to describe the impermanence, insecurity, and relative unimportance of possessions. And let's admit it, we could add to this list of wealth robbers. Like thoughtless and impulsive self-indulgent spending. We can burn through our own wealth too quickly when we impulse shop and use retail therapy. Before we know it, our treasure is tiny and our debt is huge, and we have only ourselves to blame.

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. ~ King Solomon the Wise (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)

Treasures in heaven. Jesus is calling us to reorient our relationship with the world around us. This is no small task, but it is absolutely liberating. Recall that in most instances in the Sermon on the Mount when "heaven" is mentioned, the word is actually in the plural, especially when linked with the idea of "kingdom", as in "the kingdom of the heavens". That means God's kingdom is everywhere and all around us, penetrating every dimension of our lives. But here we have one of the five exceptions in the Sermon on the Mount where "heaven" is singular, referring to a specific place or dimension, that is, our life with God after we die. In this life, when we invest in what is most important, we are somehow creating eternal treasure that will be waiting for us in our life after death. Keeping our minds awake, aware, and alert to this truth will breathe eternity into every moment and every decision we make. And to add even more good news, although typically the value of material goods decreases with use, the value of spiritual treasure increases with use.

Your treasure / Your heart. Here something interesting happens in the Greek text - the "your" shifts from plural to singular. Up to this point Jesus has been talking about a collective reality, encouraging the church as a whole to value people over things. Now he addresses us all as individuals and he teaches us an important principle for our personal heart health. In the Bible, the "heart" (Greek, kardia) is the centre of our personhood and identity. Our heart is where our true thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and will reside. (This is often contrasted with the "flesh", where a false version of these things tempt us to be someone other than our true selves.) We might expect Jesus to say something more like "Wherever your heart is focused, that is where you will build your treasure" (similar to him saying later on that we can know a tree by its fruit). We expect that who we are in our heart comes first, and that affects where we put our treasure. Sounds good. Except here Jesus says the opposite: choose where you accumulate your treasure and your heart will follow. This almost seems counter-intuitive: we might expect our heart's orientation to precede our actions. Yet, Jesus says the reverse: choose where you accumulate your treasure, and your heart will follow. This isn't about inauthentic action, not a fake-it-till-you-make-it ethic, but about the profound, formative power of our choices. Jesus encourages us to act in the way we know is right, trusting that our passion, joy, and earnestness will align. In the words of Daniel L. Akin in his Sermon on the Mount commentary: "Life is a series of decisions and choices. These decisions shape our character and guide our destiny." Psychologists call this "behavioral activation": using our behaviours to shape our emotions, our thoughts, and our desires. Yes, our character influences our decisions, but it also works in reverse. Our souls are never static. We are always changing and evolving, moving in a direction. We are both being and becoming ourselves with every choice we make and step we take. And what we truly value reveals who we are, or at least who we are becoming. When we invest our time and energies in eternal treasure, we will see our heart bend in that direction more naturally. Rather than wait for our hearts, emotions, orientations, desires, delights, and devotions to bend toward what we know to be righteous ("I'm just going to pray more until I really feel love for that person before I go talk to them" or "I'm just going to meditate until I feel forgiveness, so when I actually forgive that person it comes from my heart"), one thing we can do right away is begin to spend our time and talents and gifts and grit on what we know Jesus values - loving the people God loves (which, spoiler alert, is everybody). Sometimes we have to live by duty more than desire until our desire catches up to duty, producing delight. Jesus is pointing to the formative power of our investments: what we give ourselves to shapes who we become. Moses warns Israel of the same thing before entering the Promised Land, telling them to follow all that God commands or else "your heart will become proud" (Deuteronomy 8:11-14; yet see 30:17). Yes, our words and actions reveal our hearts, but they also shape our hearts. The practices we pursue with habitual regularity will eventually sink into our souls and forge our identities. We become how we behave. With every bit of money, time, energy, and attention we invest in one direction or another, we are forming our cardiac allegiances.

And now for some quotes from James A.K. Smith who writes wonderfully on this topic:

“The orientation of the heart happens from the bottom up, through the formation of our habits of desire. Learning to love (God) takes practice.

...

I don’t think my way into consumerism. Rather, I’m covertly conscripted into a way of life because I have been formed by cultural practices that are nothing less than secular liturgies. My loves have been automated by rituals I didn’t even realize were liturgies. These tangible, visceral, repeated practices carry a story about human flourishing that we learn in unconscious ways. These practices are loaded with their own teleological orientation toward a particular vision of the good life, a rival version of the kingdom, and by our immersion in them we are—albeit unwittingly—being taught what and how to love.

...

Discipleship, we might say, is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love.

...

Worship is the arena in which God recalibrates our hearts, reforms our desires, and rehabituates our loves. Worship isn’t just something we do; it is where God does something to us. Worship is the heart of discipleship because it is the gymnasium in which God retrains our hearts.

...

We learn to love, then, not primarily by acquiring information about what we should love but rather through practices that form the habits of how we love.”

~ James K.A. Smith (You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit)

Highly Recommend!

"Jesus isn't saying that building up earthly wealth is wrong only if it captures your affection. He's saying that building it up is wrong precisely because it will capture your affection." ~ Robert H. Gundry (Commentary on the New Testament)

COMMENTARY

(Thoughts about meaning and application)

What are "treasures in heaven"?

Matthew doesn't identify what it means to store up treasures in heaven in this immediate context, but Luke links it with giving to the poor:

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ JESUS (Luke 12:32-34)

Then later in Luke (chapter 16), Jesus elaborates on this idea in his Parable of the Shrewd Manager. In brief, a money manager learns he is about to lose his job (his life as he knows it is about to be cut short by his master). So he gives loan customers huge discounts on what they owe which creates bonds of gratitude (he is using whatever resources he has control over to help the poor). This means that when the manager loses his job, he will have no shortage of friends who will take him in (he is investing in relationships more than riches).

Jesus ends the parable with this powerful statement:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. ~ JESUS (Luke 16:9)

When we invest our money into people, especially the poor and needy, we are turning something temporary into something eternal. It is the people we affect through our generosity that become our treasure in heaven.

"How much more glorious is it to serve many, than to live sumptuously! How much wiser to spend money on human beings, than on jewels and gold! How much more valuable to acquire friends than lifeless things!" ~ Clement of Alexandria (The Instructor)

"How much more valuable to acquire friends than lifeless things!"

The ultimate treasure is the Kingdom itself. Jesus says so through two short parables in Matthew 13:

The kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. ~ JESUS (Matthew 13:44-46)

So, when we invest our energies and resources in people rather than possessions, we don't have to wait until we die to reap our reward. The Kingdom of the Heavens has already begun, and right now we can live as citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors of a community of compassion. This is the buried treasure that is worth giving up everything else. This is the pearl of great price.

Remember Luke's version of this teaching, or his encounter with the rich young ruler? Jesus was straightforward: sometimes we should sell the extra things we have and give away the money (or just give away the things).

The early church took this teaching to heart.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ~ Luke the Historian (Acts 2:44–45)

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. ~ Luke the Historian (Acts 4:32-35)

What a way to live! No one considered their possessions as their possessions. They saw themselves as stewards, that is, money managers of the Master's wealth. And the master has told us he wants his wealth invested in people.

Can we do it? Can we develop this mentality of being God's money managers? Maybe we can with help from one another and the Holy Spirit.

Anabaptists have always known that discipleship is a communal endeavor. Simplicity and generosity are not things we are meant to go out and begin to practice by ourselves. So Anabaptists encouraged communal cues to help each individual live out the principles of simplicity and generosity. From plain dress to plain worship spaces, from a limit on technology to an emphasis on communal responsibility, their community practices helped everyone invest in heavenly treasure.

Yes, like all good things, legalism eventually crept into the Anabaptist movement. Principles rooted in love became rules rooted in religion. But that doesn't mean the principles themselves were a problem.

Traditionally, Anabaptist worship spaces have few adornments, including crosses, to help remind people that this is just a meeting space - it's the people who are the Church, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Old Order Mennonite worship spaces are sparse on purpose.

Look at the apostle Paul's advice to new converts to the way of Jesus:

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, so that they may have something to share with those in need. ~ The apostle Paul (Ephesians 4:28)

His counsel is not just to stop stealing and get an honest job. He actually calls converts to reverse their focus from self to others. When someone joins the Jesus Way, the reason they make money changes. Typical worldly advice would run along the lines of "Stop stealing and get a good job so you can feel good about the life you make for yourself." But for converts to the Jesus Way, everything is about how we can bless others, knowing that this is how we will become blessed.

As has been said before in many a sermon on money and materialism... If you were on trial for being a Christian, could the prosecutor use your bank account as evidence to convict you?

We live surrounded by transient, ephemeral distractions. At the same time, all around us are infinite opportunities to invest in what is enduring and eternal. Every day we have the opportunity to practice discernment in how we spend our time and energies and resources.

Every moment of every day can become an adventure in heart-shifting and soul-crafting.

Jesus not only warns about misplacing our trust by investing in material wealth, he offers us an intentional counter-practice. Christians should be intentional to actively "store up for yourselves treasure in heaven". But how can we do this?

Five practical suggestions for investing in heavenly treasure:

1. Live below your means.

2. Get rid of excess.

3. Give to the poor.

4. Invest in Kingdom mission.

5. Always prioritize people over possessions.

Going back to the writings of James Smith above, it won't do to try to practice these suggestions in a one-off fashion. We will need to commit to specific behaviours and form small habits. For instance...

1. Want to live below your means? Decide to order out half as much. Commit to only buying used cars. Shop at thrift stores for all clothing needs. Borrow rather than buy whenever possible.

2. Want to get rid of excess? Ask yourself what have you not used in the past year? Or two years. Or even five years. Start somewhere. If you are storing it throughout the change of seasons, year after year, donate it. Reject the myth you know you will tell yourself - ah, but now that I see it, I WILL use it next season. Hmmm. Maybe, but probably not. And storing things because of the big "what if I need it one day" is precisely why we hoard. Put a weekend aside, read Matthew 6:19-21 to begin, then get to work as the Spirit leads and energizes.

3. Want to give to the poor? Commit to always carrying cash you are willing to part with, so when you see someone begging, your first impulse is to to toward them to give them something rather than avoid them.

4. Want to invest in Kingdom mission? Make it a personal policy to, when hearing about a ministry need you feel is valid, ask yourself "How much should I give?" rather than "Should I give?"

   
   

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(Oh look! Who put this handy "Donate" button here?)

5. Want to prioritize people over possessions? Start a firm habit of always engaging over a meal with the people before the food. Never take the first bite. Always make eye contact and ask questions. Train yourself to see eating as secondary to loving connection, even and especially at meal times.

These are just a few examples that come to mind. What are yours?

"When God bestows the world's riches on any person, he is giving such people a ministry of helps [1 Corinthians 12:28]. He wants them to use their largesse to lift up the fallen, to alleviate the burdens of the downtrodden. There is no choice; God expects us to share with the needy, and the more we have, the more we must share." ~ Grant R. Osborne (Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)

CONFESSION

(Personal reflection)

I confess that I used to think I was doing better at following and applying this teaching of Jesus than I do now. I used to think, "I have many problems, but my addiction to the transient nature of fashion, or the materialistic addiction to possessions is not one of them. Let's move along to the next topic Jesus."

But these days I am waking up to my own tendency to love stuff and use people rather than the reverse. I don't use people in manipulative ways (at least I don't think so), but I do rely on them without equally investing in them. I am always struggling against my own passivity and social anxiety to just pick up the phone and ask how someone is doing.

And then there is my book addiction. So interesting that the "moth" Jesus talks about in this passage could eat away at books as well as garments. I love learning new things. Learning is my high, my drug of choice. But learning can feel like spiritual growth when actually it is just learning. Reading can feel like I'm doing something, but I'm really not; I'm just reading. I need to read less, study less, and write less, and take the initiative to love others more.

This confession can sound like a humble brag, a confession that is really an exultation. Oh, me? My sin on this topic is that I value learning and study too much. Poor me. Yet, these habits of prioritizing learning, study, and technology are not trivial; they can be subtle forms of idolatry that divert my attention and energy from the very people God calls me to serve and love. My addiction to knowledge can become a barrier to active compassion.

And, I have more to confess.

I do love stuff. I am easily enamoured with the shiny bobbles of life. My list of material distractions might be different than yours. I don't care a lot about fashion or fast cars, for instance, but I do love technology. From stereo equipment to the latest cell phones, I love gizmos and gadgets. For me, this teaching of Jesus is his invitation to lift my eyes up off my screen and take off my headphones. Glorious image bearers of God are all around me whom God wants me to serve, to love, and to learn from.

This teaching from good ol' Saint Basil really gets to me:

"The wealth you handle belongs to others. Think on it accordingly. ... Who is the covetous man? One for whom plenty is not enough. Who is the defrauder? One who keeps what belongs to everyone. And are not you covetous, are not you a defrauder, when you keep for private use what you were given for sharing? When someone strips a man of his clothes we call him a thief. And one who might clothe the naked and does not - should not he be given the same name? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute. You do an injustice to every man whom you could help but do not."

~ Basil the Great (Homily 6)

"The wealth you handle belongs to others. Think on it accordingly."

Okay, one last confession: that Greek word for devouring (brósis) has me convicted. Literally, Jesus says sometimes our treasured possessions get "eaten". And I'm thinking, I don't need moths, rats, rot, or rust to help me with that. Because sometimes the thing I treasure most is food. I spend money on food like it is a life-giving hobby worthy of significant financial investment. And my issue is, I don't savour quality; I pursue quantity; I don't look forward to meals because of the communal joy of a shared meal, but for my personal joy of consumption. (I think the apostle Paul has something to say to me in 1 Corinthians 11.)

Dear Jesus, help me hunger for what really satisfies.

I think God often speaks to me through media, like movies and music. Throughout my life I have found movies and music more transcendent experiences than, say, nature. (I know, I'm weird.) One of the movies that has stayed with me since childhood on the topic of intentional simplicity is the 1972 Franco Zeffirelli film Brother Sun, Sister Moon, on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. The final scene where Francis meets the Pope, where Jesusy simplicity meets church opulence, is unforgettable.

You can rent the movie on Amazon Prime or Youtube. It's worth it for that final scene. Click the pic for the trailer. Catch a glimpse of Obi-Wan Kenobi as Pope Innocent III around the 2:45 mark.

CONCLUSION

(One last thought)

The Christian philosopher Os Guinness said that contrast, or comparison, is the mother of clarity. In other words, sometimes we won't fully appreciate or understand something until we compare it to the other alternatives. This is especially helpful for Christians who have been raised in the church and who may have become overly familiar with the stand-out brilliance of Jesus. We may not realize just how genius Jesus is until we compare his teaching with the alternatives.

The Buddha, for instance, saw the suffering caused by our desire to acquire and taught that desire itself is a problem to be overcome. Jesus takes a different approach. Rather than abandon all desire, Jesus teaches us to redirect it.

Jesus does not tell his followers to set aside all desire, ambition, or goal-directed enterprise. Christ-followers are called to be ambitious entrepreneurs, but all the time working for a different kind of treasure and promoting a different kind of kingdom.

Neither does Jesus appeal to pure altruism, that is, disinterested virtue (e.g., doing something just because it is right, even though we personally will not benefit from it). No, Jesus does not command or commend altruism as a motivation, but rather wisdom. Living the Jesus Way will gain us an even better reward and an even greater treasure. Even Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2), not just because it was somehow the right thing to do.

Christ-followers do not have to conjure a lack of care for ourselves; we do have to conjure a better sense of how to really care for ourselves, which will include deeply caring for others as well. Love is not a zero-sum game. In our love life with God, when we choose the way of generosity, simplicity, and compassion, everyone wins, including ourselves. The way of Jesus is not stoicism, but redirected and purposeful passion.

"Invest your life in what God is doing." ~ Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy)

CONTEMPLATE

(Scripture passages that relate to and deepen our understanding of this topic)

Haggai 1:6; Matthew 19:16-26; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Philippians 4:11-13; Colossians 3:1-3; Hebrews 13:5

CONVERSATION

(Talk together, learn together, grow together)

1. What is God revealing to you about himself through this passage?

2. What is God showing you about yourself through this passage?

3. Do you think the motivation Jesus gives of getting reward or treasure in heaven cheapens our expressions of love or strengthens them?

4. What is one thing you can think, believe, or do differently in light of what you are learning?

5. What questions are you still processing about this topic?

CALL TO ACTION

(Ideas for turning talk into walk)

Remember the list of five practical suggestions for investing in heavenly treasure? Write down specific next steps in some or all categories, then post your paper where it is prominent, where you can't forget about it, and try to live by it for one week (or one month). Here is an example of some ideas:

1. Live below your means. Write your resolutions: e.g., I am eating only my own food from home this week/month. I will also buy no new thing that is not a necessity. No impulse shopping. And no "dream building" or "vision boarding" about stuff, only about ways I can serve others.

2. Get rid of excess. Open your calendar and commit a day (or, more likely, days) to gather up items you haven't used recently to take to the dump or donation.

3. Give to the poor. List those people you pass you could give to. On the same day you are out donating your goods, stop by the bank to get small (or large) bills to keep handy to give away. In Canada, loonies and toonies (twonies?) are perfect. Their weight and their jingle say "give me away!"

4. Invest in Kingdom mission. Write down a charity or charities that you feel advance the cause of the Kingdom of Christ. Write an amount to donate or to increase your regular donations by. And/Or, talk to a friend (maybe someone in your small church) about volunteering together for a compassion ministry. Write this down if you are not doing it right away, to make sure you follow through.

5. Always prioritize people over possessions. List some people you have lost touch with who you could encourage, reconcile with, apologize to, or help in some practical way.

   
   

Now, post this paper in plain sight for a week/month and work at crossing things off your list. (Also add to your list when God brings new things to mind.) Even if you just get to one or two things, that is a step in the right direction along the Jesus Way!