The premise for the next section in Jesus’ sermon is to remember to keep God at the center of our heart's desires and affections. It is often said this way: Believers live for a higher heavenly purpose. From this next teaching, I want to offer us some practical evaluation questions to help us know what we might need to be fasting from if Jesus is going to be the priority.
Bound To Deteriorate
Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:19–24:
“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."
This is a wonderfully illustrative metaphor of saving things that become worthless over time. My family stayed in a house for a few months that was next to a garage filled with vintage cars. The cars were awesome, but simply held for nostalgia. They were rusting because of moister, filled with critters and bugs, and were just wasting away. They could have been sold or even given away to be used, but the owner couldn’t let them go, so they were turning back into the earth from whence they came. What a great illustration of what we adore to death and detriment in our lives.
Here are three questions to evaluate if I’m investing too much into what is going to deteriorate:
What am I hoarding? To hoard means to hold on to something because of an emotional attachment. It is something we wrap our hearts around for comfort or memory or coping with loss. What is your coping mechanism when it isn’t truth from the Holy Spirit and the Word of God?
What am I holding? I am the type of person who will not take two trips up a set of stairs if I don’t absolutely have to, and then three trips are required because of what I keep dropping. This question is about what we aren’t willing to set down in our life, no matter what else we drop in the process. Is there time left in your life with everything else you're holding for prayer, devotion and worship? Is there time for family and church relationships?
What am I honoring? This is a question of idolatry. What are you placing in the first place position in your life? What receives the priority?
The Lamp Of The Body
Jesus continues in verses 22 and 23,
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, 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 in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"
There are two metaphors at play here in Jesus’ teaching: what we see and how we see. We need eyes to see, and we need light so that our eyes can see. If I’m walking at night, I must first look at the path, not the stars, and I must secondly point the light at my path, not the trees. Here are questions to ask yourself:
What is my focus? We can replace Jesus with many goals, desires or even anxieties. What consumes our thoughts, dreams or energy is usually where our priorities lie.
Where is my attention directed? What fans my fire?
What gets me genuinely excited? Can I be as excited about Jesus and His church?
Would you at least allow Jesus to compete for your time and attention, or is Jesus 2nd place by default?
Investing In The Eternal
Jesus closed this section with these words in verse 24:
“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 money."
From this statement, we ask ourselves these questions:
What is competing for my heart?
What makes me emotional? What makes me passionate?
Common emotions can help us see and recognize our true heart’s desires, including: Joy, Sorrow, Anger, Relief, Anxiety, Laughter, Contentedness, Jealousy, etc.
Only two things will last forever: the Word of God and the Souls of Men. Invest in knowing God and it will not return void! Isaiah 55:10-11 promises,
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."
Invest in loving people, and you have an excellent chance of seeing an eternal work! Revelation 7:9–10 confirms this:
"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'"
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