WHAT DO YOU TREASURE?

For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (I Timothy 6:10).

Do not love the world or the things of the world (I John 2:15).

Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). 

All quotations are from the Revised Standard Version.

My daughter posted her offering meditation on her blog, Sleepy Thoughts . . . It shows that the apple does not fall too far from the tree.  Though I have expressed similar thoughts I would like to expand/expound on the subject.

Traditional interpretation of Matthew 6:19-21 has assumed that money is the treasure, and if one gives his money, the heart will follow it.  As an intervention for those who love money, it is not a bad thing to tell them to give their money away and follow Jesus (Matthew 19:21); sometimes behavioral therapy on adults does work, changing them from the outside in rather than the inside out.  But, even in 19:21 the emphasis is on following Jesus; notice what the rich young ruler could not do--be obedient to Jesus.  His possessions were his treasure, not Jesus.

God doesn't need our money.  God will not go out of business if we stop giving; He owns the cattle on a thousand hills; He owns the world and everything in it.  Often our preaching conveys the idea that God needs our money; He doesn't!!!  What God desires is our hearts!  What one treasures is where his heart is.  Ask any young man who is madly in love; he will gladly spend all his money on the love of his life. 

Often the message of the church is: "We will go out of business if you do not give," or "If you would just give more we could do . . ."  That message is a message of materialism, that the Church of Christ is more dependent on money that the power of the Spirit for its existence.  Preachers have yet to learn the meaning of Zechariah 4:6, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.  The church can be just as guilty about loving money and coveting it as any person.  I have known several people who have quit a church because the church was all about trusting money rather than the Spirit of God.

If  money is our treasure, then almost every time, money will be given with a begrudging heart, not a cheerful heart.  A whole lot more money will be given when Jesus is our treasure because it will be given with a cheerful heart and not a begrudging one.  The Lord loves a cheerful giver!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom