Matthew 6:19-24
Jesus
Teaches about Money
6:19
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal.
-
- 20
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and
steal.
-
- 21
For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.
-
- 22
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes
are good, your whole body will be full of light.
23
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will
be full of darkness!
-
- 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 the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Will God Solve
Your Money Problems? Can't Say But At Least Your
Financial Situation Will Be Put Into
Perspective
A quick financial quote,
author unknown --
"We spend our health
making a fortune and then spend a fortune trying to
get our health back."
This is always a tough
subject for me. I guess since I grew up with meager
means, I put too much value on net worth and this
sometimes leads me to ignoring God in order to work
to accumulate more money and "stuff".
Are you sometimes caught up
in this world's view of success? It is an easy trap
to fall into if we are not careful.
Just a footnote: I am
certainly not condemning those who have accumulated
honest wealth by working toward goals to achieve
it. Not at all. If you make a good living, kudos to
you and I truly want you to enjoy the fruits of
your labor.
God was a working being also
(remember the creation?) so it would not make sense
for us to have to be miserable every time we have
extra spending money.
Christ is talking about the
way we sometimes let money matters get in the way
of what is really important... Working for God and
serving Him.
Spiritual
Vision
Do you have spiritual vision?
Spiritual vision is our capacity to see clearly
what God wants us to do and to see the world from
his point of view.
But this spiritual insight
can be easily clouded. Self-serving desires,
interests, and goals block that vision. Serving God
is the best way to restore it. A 'good' eye is one
that is fixed on God.
Jesus says in verse 24 we can
have only one master. We live in a materialistic
society where many people serve money.
They spend all their lives
collecting and storing it, only to die and leave it
behind. Their desire for money and what it can buy
far outweighs their commitment to God and spiritual
matters.
Whatever you store up, you
will spend much of your time and energy thinking
about. Don't fall into the materialistic trap,
because 'the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil' (1 Timothy 6:10).
Can you honestly say that
God, and not money, is your master?
One test is to ask which one
occupies more of your thoughts, time, and efforts.
I just asked myself that question and was
disappointed in the answer. How about
you?
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses about dealing with money problems are
from Life Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
Resources: Edward
D Jones
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