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KI Media: Quote, unquote... [Home Truth!]

Jesus is truly clear, and Jesus is profoundly serious.

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.

ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Matthew 6:19–21

And then this summary a paragraph later.

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.

ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Matthew 6:24

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Recommended reading: I highly recommend you read this article. It is “Everything Jesus had to say about the homeless, wealth, prosperity, poverty, riches, the poor, the needy and giving” Here is the link.

The video below are my personal thoughts on being materialistic and the Kingdom of God. It details my personal journey and the lessons I have learned. It is supplemental to this article. Please subscribe to the channel if you like this content.

We are accustomed to dividing life into the “spiritual” and the “material”; but Jesus made no such division. In many of His parables, He made it clear that a right attitude toward wealth is a mark of true spirituality. The Pharisees were covetous and used religion to make money. If we have the true righteousness of the Messiah in our lives, then we will have a proper attitude toward material wealth.

Nowhere did Jesus magnify poverty or criticize the legitimate getting of wealth. God made all things, including food, clothing, and precious metals.

  • God has declared that all things He has made are good (Gen. 1:31).
  • God knows that we need certain things to live (Matt. 6:32).
  • In fact, He has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).
  • It is not wrong to own things, but it is wrong for things to possess us.
  • The sin of idolatry is as dangerous as the sin of hypocrisy!
  • There are many warnings in the Bible against covetousness.

Jesus warned against the sin of living for the things of this life. He pointed out the sad consequences of covetousness and idolatry.

Materialism will enslave the heart (Matt. 6:19–21), the mind (Matt. 6:22–23), and the will (Matt. 6:24). We can become shackled by the material things of life, but we ought to be liberated and controlled by the Spirit of God.

If the heart loves material things, and puts earthly gain above heavenly investments, then the result can only be a tragic loss. The treasures of earth may be used for God. But if we gather material things for ourselves, we will lose them; and we will lose our hearts with them. Instead of spiritual enrichment, we will experience impoverishment.

What does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven? It means to use all that we have for the glory of God. It means to “hang loose” when it comes to the material things of life. It also means measuring life by the true riches of the kingdom and not by the false riches of this world.

Wealth not only enslaves the heart, but it also enslaves the mind (Matt. 6:22–23). God’s Word often uses the eye to stand for the attitudes of the mind. If the eye is properly focused on the light, the body can function properly in its movements. But if the eye is out of focus and seeing double, it results in unsteady movements. It is most difficult to make progress while trying to look in two directions at the same time.

If our aim in life is to get material gain, it will mean darkness within. But if our outlook is to serve and glorify God, there will be light within. If what should be light is really darkness, then darkness is controlling us; and outlook determines outcome.

Finally, materialism can enslave the will (Matt. 6:24). We cannot serve two masters simultaneously. Either Jesus the Messiah is our Master, or money is our Master. It is a matter of will. “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare” (1 Tim. 6:9). If God grants riches, and we use them for His glory, then riches are a blessing. But if we will to get rich, and live with that outlook, we will pay a great price for those riches.

  • Ecclesiastes 5:10 — 10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.
  • Ecclesiastes 4:8 — 8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity, and it is a grievous task.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:12 — 12 The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.
  • Haggai 1:5–6 — 5 Now therefore, thus says Yahweh [the Lord] of hosts, “Consider your ways! 6 “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

Source: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 27.