We’ve now reached the second half of Matthew 6, in which Jesus’ attention turns from non-hypocritical religious observance to how we ought to set our priorities in life.
Let’s begin by reading Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Everyone has something that they treasure above all else. Something they’d sacrifice anything else in order to protect or keep hold of. What could be called the “ultimate thing” in their lives.
Your ultimate thing
It’ll be different for each person, but for most people it’s likely to be one (or some combination) of the following:
Family, particularly a partner and/or children. Many people will sacrifice anything including their own lives to protect those they love. There are absolutely no lengths they wouldn’t go to in order to ensure the safety and prosperity of their loved ones, up to and including breaking the law and endangering those outside of their family.
Position and reputation in society. For some people, their status is everything. They carefully curate their appearance and public-facing activities, particularly on social media. They will do anything to protect their own image, even if it means telling blatant falsehoods or even taking steps to discredit or destroy anyone who might expose their true, flawed self.
Job. Whether it’s because of the salary or the status or the power that it brings, or simply because they love what they do, some people value their job above everything else. Everything else, including family and relationships and health, has to play second fiddle to their career advancement.
Autonomy. For many, especially the younger generations, their own personal freedom to make choices about their lives is what they value most of all. They may deeply resent and be extremely hostile towards anyone or anything that constrains their freedom or tells them what to do. The idea of an external authority having the right to order them around is anathema to their sense of individual identity.
Money and possessions. Some people just love to have and accumulate stuff, perhaps because of the status it brings or the feeling of power. It can also be the sense of safety, the confidence of knowing that no matter what happens, they’ve got the resources to weather any storm and replace any losses.
No doubt there are other things that I haven’t thought of.
But what is your ultimate treasure? Is it one (or some combination) of the above?
You might be thinking “No, of course it’s not”, or perhaps you’re not sure. Why not go through that list (add in any others you’ve thought of yourself) and for each thing ask: do I have this? How much do I value it? Could I live without it? Is there anything I wouldn’t be prepared to sacrifice in order to hold on to it?
Be honest with yourself!
A big old list
Now ask yourself this: if you were to put all of those things (and any others you’ve thought of) in a list from most important to least important in your life, where would God feature in that list?
I’m not asking where in the list he should feature, but rather where does he feature according to the way you live your life?
How many times have you sacrificed a chance to serve God, or a chance to share your faith with others, in order to hold on to something else in that list? To please a member of your family, or keep a member of your family out of trouble? To avoid losing face in a social situation? To stay out of trouble at work? To make the decisions that feel right to you in spite of what God says? To acquire more money or stuff, or hold on to what you already have instead of giving it away?
It’s natural for us to trust things that are here on Earth, things that we have at least some measure of control over. We like to feel as if we’re in charge of our own destiny. We like to think we’ve got the resources and the ability to handle whatever difficulties life might throw our way. We like to think that we’ve always got a safety net, one of our own making, to rescue us if things go wrong – whether it’s family or friends or connections or money.
These things can become idols which we worship.
Idols? Really?
You might think of an idol as a statue made of silver or gold, placed in some pagan temple or shrine, to which people bow down and offer sacrifices. That’s certainly one form an idol can take, but really an idol is anything in your life that becomes the “ultimate thing”, the one thing for which you will sacrifice everything else, the one thing that you trust will be able to save you when everything else fails.
An idol is, essentially, a god that you can control.
In our day it’s not going to be some statue in a temple, but perhaps one of the things we’ve already discussed: family, friends, job, money, reputation, whatever it is that sits at the very top of your list of priorities – even if you don’t realise it’s taken that place.
There’s nothing wrong with having these things in your life, as long as they’re not an idol, as long as they are not above God in your priority list.
That’s the challenge of being a Christian: entrusting your life to a God you can’t control. God loves you and wants you to be with him for eternity, but he’s not under your control. He won’t always do what you want, he won’t always save you from the consequences of your mistakes and he won’t always save you from the consequence of things that aren’t your fault.
However, he will always give you what you need, he will always be willing to forgive your mistakes, and he will never allow you to suffer more than you can faithfully endure.
You can’t control God or tame him. But you can trust him. That’s essentially what faith is: trusting that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he’s promised.
It’s a very different kind of trust from that which you might have in your idols.
Idols don’t last
Sadly, none of the things you might rely on or idolise in this world will last forever. Eventually they will fail you or disappear entirely. While the “moths and vermin” and “thieves” Jesus warned his followers about may not literally apply in your situation, there are many ways we can lose our idols today.
Friends or family may move away or drift away or pass away. Changes in the cultural landscape may ruin your reputation no matter how carefully you maintain it – what is seen as honourable today might be seen as politically incorrect tomorrow. Your job, your money and possessions may only last until the next economic disaster.
If you’re old enough, just think about how much the world has changed since the year 2000. So many things which were taken for granted and which we thought would last forever, have changed dramatically or disappeared entirely.
Even if you do somehow manage to hold on to the things you love the most, human beings have a tendency to never be fully satisfied with what we have. We always want more. The next step up the social ladder, the next promotion at work, the bigger house, the flashier car, the next successful investment. And if we achieve those, there’s always higher to go.
Even those who do reach as high as it’s possible to go in human terms often do not find happiness or satisfaction. Sometimes, when they realise there’s nothing more to strive for and they still don’t feel happy, celebrities and sports stars have even been known to take their own lives.
Even those who are able to find contentment in a simple life with close family and friends and a modest lifestyle will find that those things don’t last forever.
So what does?
The only things that can last forever are God, the promises he’s made, and the relationships you form with those people who share your faith in him.
As Peter promises in 1 Peter 1:4-5 we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Those are the only things you can take with you out of this world into the next one.
Obviously I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t value your family or friends or job or possessions. What I am suggesting is that you should enjoy these things within the context of putting God as your number one priority in life.
If any of those things sometimes get in the way of serving God, then you need to take steps to ensure he comes first. You need to be willing to sacrifice those things for the sake of serving God, not the other way around. If you can find a way to use your money or possessions in God’s service, then that would be the ideal scenario. If you can bring your family and friends to share your faith in God, then that’s even better.
None of that is easy and none of it will come naturally to you as a human being. You constantly need to be thinking, examining your life, making honest assessments about your priorities, and taking whatever action is necessary to make sure your treasure truly is in heaven, and your heart is truly set upon it.
Nihilist to Christian 