Who Do You Serve? -- Matthew 6:19-24

Introduction

Back in the 60’s, there was song by the Lovin’ Spoonful that asked the question, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” The song was about a man who had fallen in love with two different women and couldn’t decide which he wanted to be with. He knew he had to choose one or the other, but he just couldn’t. And we all know how that story will end. If he can’t choose one, he’ll lose them both.

Background

In this passage, taken from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has moved from talking about prayer, offerings and fasting and is now looking at the issue of undivided loyalty to God.

As we discussed last week, there was the presumption that riches and wealth indicated having God’s favor. The examples of Abraham, David, Solomon and Job seemed to indicate that such a theology was accurate. Jesus used His encounter with the Rich Young Ruler to show that there is no correlation between wealth and God’s favor. Jesus used moment to tell the disciples and us that a reliance on wealth, far from bringing God’s favor, tends to make it impossible to enter God’s kingdom.

In this particular passage, Jesus teaches us that we are constantly being torn between two things. We live in a material world; it is only natural that we be attracted to material things. But God’s children are not drawn by the natural; we are drawn by the Spirit toward spiritual things. If we find ourselves being torn between the two, then we have to make a decision. Like the singer in the song, we have to make up our mind.

Central Truth: The Bible is very clear: We either serve Money or we serve God. It is impossible to do both.

1. Storing the right kind of treasure (19-21)

“Seeing is believing.” I think we’ve all said words to that effect or something familiar at one time or another. We have a tendency to disbelieve unless we can have tangible proof of its existence or its truth.

Despite our natural tendencies, Jesus reminds us that the natural is superficial, that the spiritual is the real thing. Jesus’ words here remind us that the things we think are valuable in this world are temporary. He tells us the earthly things break down, eaten by moths or consumed in rot and rust. Things on earth are easy to lose through theft or other means. If we put our faith in such things, we will be disappointed.

Have you seen the ads that show new apps we can put on our smart phones allowing us to watch our property when we’re away? We have devices that allow us to know what’s going on at our houses and buildings, all at the push of a button.

But why? It’s because we’re worried someone will snatch it away from us, or some disaster will occur that will destroy all that we hold near and dear to us. So we spend the extra money to keep us from worrying. And of course, this raises the question: Who’s the possession, and who’s the owner?

Jesus tells us that the better choice is to store up treasures in heaven, since such treasures are secure from corrosion or theft. The treasures that await us are eternal, of far greater value than anything the world can offer us. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Jesus’ lesson is that we put our focus on where our treasure is. If our treasures are earthly, our focus will be on earthly things, but if our treasure is in heaven, that’s where our thoughts will be. Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-3: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Since we are the children of God, and since we are seated with Christ, our hearts and thoughts must be on things above, and that means our treasures must be laid up in heaven.

1. Having a good eye (22-23)

Jesus begins His lesson on money and God, and all of a sudden, He seems to change the subject to having good vision. At first glance (pardon the pun), these two verses have nothing to do with the previous three verses.

What Jesus is saying is that, just as we must set our hearts on the truly valuable riches of heaven, so must we also ensure that our character reflects the generosity of God and not the selfishness of this world.

You see, when we treasure the truly valuable, then we’ll understand that the natural riches we have are merely here for us to use to further God’s kingdom. We can use our money to provide funds for missions, food for the hungry, clothes for the cold. We can do all sorts of things as we see the world through God’s eyes, and we recognize that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalm 24:1a). Because it belongs to God, we are merely stewards, to use what we have as God directs us.

But if our vision is clouded, if our eyes are bad, if our hearts are on things on earth, then we begin to mistake the things we have as being ours, and if they are ours, then we must hold on to them. We see anything that requires us to part with our things for anything other than what we want is a waste of time and effort.

When it comes to the truly valuable, we must have a good eye, we must have a heavenly vision. We must see with our Father’s eyes, obediently following His will and His ways.

1. Choosing the right Master (24)

In the previous verses, Jesus tells us we must determine where we will keep our treasure, knowing that our heart will be found with that treasure. He also tells us we must have the right attitude regarding worldly possessions. This attitude is created when we place ourselves under the direction of God the Father through His Holy Spirit. In this concluding verse, Jesus summarizes His teaching by letting us know we have to make a choice. We cannot serve two masters. We must choose.

I enjoy football. I’m glad we’re getting closer to both the college and NFL seasons. I haven’t seen very many games over the past few years in their entirety, but I enjoy keeping up with the teams, particularly the teams I like. As you know, I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan for almost all my life. I also became a fan of the Houston Texans. I want both teams to do really well. What I don’t like to do is watch the Vikings play the Texans. I have a divided loyalty, and the game, rather than being enjoyable, become filled with anxious moments. I mean, how can you cheer for your favorite team to do well against your other favorite team? It is very hard to do so.

Jesus tells us that the same difficulties arise when trying to serve two masters. Inevitably, we will begin to favor one of the masters over the other. We’ll begin to resent one master, while beginning to focus on serving the other. Ultimately, such a divided loyalty results in a rift between the servant and one of the masters.

In case we miss the message, Jesus makes it very clear: We cannot serve God and money. It just isn’t possible. Paul tells us the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

I had a friend while I was in seminary. We met at church. He was working for someone trying to sell shares in a promising company trying to get off the ground. One day my friend comes to the apartment, clearly upset about something. He finally tells me that a man he greatly admired confronted him and forced my friend to face facts. The fact was that this alleged up and coming company was really a fraud, and anyone who invested in it would ultimately lose their shirt. My friend knew this all along, in the back of his mind, but the money was good and he found ways to justify what he was doing. He told me, “I knew it was wrong, but I loved the chasing after the money.” He was compromising his Christian testimony in this pursuit, and only the intervention of a Christian brother who knew better brought him to his senses.

Conclusion

Life is filled with choices. Every day we make hundreds of decisions, big and small. One of the biggest decisions we have to make every day is whether or not we will give ourselves to Christ and let Him guide us. If we have our hearts in the right place, and our eyes are open to the Light of the world, our choice will be simple. We will serve God, and only God.

Who will you choose to serve today?