19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:19-24
The Well Off know the created order is here today and gone tomorrow.
A Storage Problem
Jesus does not come down on saving.
Jesus does come down on hoarding.
The difference between the two is how many storage units we have for the stuff we don’t want!
But really, hoarding is about the heart. Hoarding is a scarcity mindset. I’ve gotta build bigger barns so that I can have enough if it all runs out.
When we hoard as much as possible, we forget the created order is here today and gone tomorrow. There is an investment that lasts much longer.
An Eye Problem
The eye is the light of our consumption.
When consumption has a right place in our life, our eye is good.
When consumption has a wrong place in our life, our eye is bad.
Consumption is about living and enjoying. God created us to consume the good creation he gave us as a gift. When greed creeps in, our life becomes about hoarding and possessing. Our eye goes bad when we believe the created order will solve the issues of our life.
Generosity is a vital part of consumption. Generosity provides a check and balance towards how much we consume. Enjoyment comes from generosity. To be generous is to invest into things that last much longer than the created order.
A Master Problem
I didn’t connect the dots of Jesus moving directly from fasting to possessions until this time through the Sermon on the Mount. But it 100% goes together. When we get the Master right in our life, consumption finds its rightful place. Fasting helps us keep consumption in its proper place.
To fast in secret is to crave our Daddy King in secret.
To consume rightly is to crave the right place for our Daddy King in our life.
No two people are alike in their consumption. God leads one to poverty as a missionary. God leads another to wealth to fund the missionary in their endeavors. Both equally consume the created order the way God leads them to consume.
The key is Kingdom investment. There are bigger investments than another house, 401k or crypto. Do you use everything God has given to you to invest into the advancement of God’s Kingdom into the world?
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