Is the Lord your treasure? That’s an important question to ask yourself and for me to ask myself. What is your greatest dream? Is it to please God and be with Jesus or is it to be rich on earth? What is your passion: God or money? What is the driving force behind all your flurry of activity? Are you too busy trying to make money to spend time with God?
Life Does Not Consist of Possessions
While we all know we need money or provision to survive on earth, our Lord Jesus had a lot to say about our relationship with money. In Luke 12:13-15 (New American Standard Bible), we read this story:
And someone in the crowd said to Him [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?” And He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
I love that! Our lives do not consist of our possessions. Money won’t make us fulfilled. It may buy us our needs and our wants, and I’m all for having financial blessings. However, if riches are our number one pursuit, they just won’t make us happy, just like a pot of gold doesn’t really exist at the end of a rainbow. Is the Lord your treasure?
Let Us Be Rich Toward God!
Continuing on in Luke 12:16-21,
And He [Jesus] told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Jesus is not against people being wealthy. He blesses some people in that way. What concerns Him is when wealth becomes someone’s #1 pursuit instead of God (including Jesus). None of us is guaranteed tomorrow to live. We could die today. Is the Lord your treasure? Let us pray for Him to be our treasure! Let us be rich toward God!
Do Not Be Anxious and Afraid about Food and Clothing
Luke 12 continues to record Jesus’ teaching us about money in verses 22-34:
And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and yet God feeds them: how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why are you anxious about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, o men of little faith! And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I know what it’s like to be anxious about paying the bills. I wasted much unnecessary time fretting over paying the mortgage to our house. God finally delivered me by showing me these verses above. If the Lord is our treasure and we are seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, He will make sure that we have food to eat and clothes to wear. Hey, He even took care of the mortgage! Bills don’t worry me anymore. God has proven He keeps His promises! I pray if you worry about paying the bills, He will set you free as well! Is the Lord your treasure? If so, He will definitely take care of you! Even if you are homeless, put your trust in God; and He will provide for you!
I love that verse above that says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” More important than your physical wellbeing is the wellbeing of your heart. Your heavenly Father wants to give you His kingdom so you will be, most importantly, rich spiritually!
Lay Up Unfailing Treasures in Heaven
Jesus instructed His people in this verse to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor. God may lead some people to do that, others maybe not. However, we can certainly glean that we should spend our money not only on ourselves but on helping those in need. This is called “laying up unfailing treasures in heaven” that thieves can’t steal and moths can’t eat. Not even stocks falling can affect that stored up heavenly treasure! Give to the poor as God leads you, and you will definitely be blessed! Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay for his good deed.” If you give to help the poor, God will repay you! He will reward you for your generosity! More could be said about this, but let’s return to the topic at hand. Is the Lord your treasure?
We Can Only Serve One Master
In Luke 16:13-15, we read of more of Jesus’ precious instruction about money relating to the motives of our hearts:
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
The world teaches us that making money should be our #1 priority. I’m all for working, and the Bible supports making a living and fathers and/or mothers providing for their families. However, is the Lord your treasure? Is He your #1 priority? Jesus says in the verses above that we can only serve one master: God or money. We cannot serve both.
God Can Save the Wealthy
In Luke 18:18-27, the Bible records a conversation Jesus had with a rich, young ruler. This rich, young ruler wanted to know what he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him some of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20. This young man told Him, “…All these things I have kept from my youth.” Jesus told him, “One thing you still lack, sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Jesus doesn’t give that command to every one of His children. However, that man was clinging to His money and serving it as his god. Verses 23-27 say:
But when he had heard these things, he became very sad; for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things impossible with men are possible with God.”
Those who are wealthy tend to cling to their money, so much so that they may not even want to become a Christian and follow Jesus! However, God can change any heart that asks Him! Is the Lord your treasure?
Verses 28-30 go on to state the promises to those who do sacrifice financially to go on the mission field. I encourage you to look that up. 🙂
If You Struggle with Loving Money, Jesus Still Loves You
Mark 10:21 adds a wonderful comment about this same encounter Jesus had with the rich, young ruler. It says (King James Version), “Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest…”
I love this comment. If you struggle over the issue of money, maybe even idolize it, Jesus still loves you! Give Him the struggle, and He will give you the victory!
Repent of Lukewarmness and Dine with Jesus!
Jesus instructs us in Revelation 3:14-22 about our relationship with money, as well. We looked at part of this passage last week. Let’s look at it more in detail:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write; The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Do you like to drink lukewarm beverages? –Or do you prefer them iced or hot? Our love for Jesus can be hot, lukewarm, or cold. Jesus said He would rather we be hot or cold toward Him than lukewarm. He says if we are lukewarm, He will spit us out of His mouth. Does that mean that He will stop speaking to us until we repent? Maybe. I don’t know. But I don’t want to find out firsthand!
Jesus went on to say what insipid love for Him looks like: “Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,'” If we have many riches, we must ask God that they will not steal our hearts’ affection for Jesus! Whether or not we have wealth, WE NEED JESUS!!! We can’t say we have need of nothing! That is deception! Jesus said people who think that way don’t know they are “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked”! Money can’t love us and fill our deepest needs. Only God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can!
Jesus goes on in the passage above to invite His people (!) (not only the spiritually “lost”) into a deeper communion with Him. Then He will make us spiritually rich and clothe us in His righteousness (white garments) so the shame of our spiritual nakedness will not appear. He promises to open our spiritual eyes to see in the spiritual realm. He says those He loves He reproves and disciplines. He invites us to repent and promises that if we do, we will sit down with Him on His throne!!! Those who by His grace overcome the flesh, including the love of money, will rule and reign with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom!!!
Ask God to Give You a Heart that Pants after Him!
In closing, let us look at the kind of heart God wants to give us. It is found in Psalm 42:1-2: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” Do you pant after God? Is He your passion? Does your soul thirst for Him? Do you long to please Him and to be with Him more than anything else? Is the Lord your treasure? This is the kind of heart He wants to give us!
Let us ask Him right now for this kind of heart! Let us repent if riches or anything else or anyone else means more to us than Him! He will greatly bless us with a deeper relationship with our loving Lord Jesus! –And He will take care of our physical needs, as well!
Please leave any comments or prayer requests you have. I would love to hear from you and would be honored to pray for you!
Here are three songs that may bless you about this topic:
(158) Tauren Wells – Empty (Lyrics) – YouTube
This one is by Shannon Adducci:
(158) Where My Heart Is – YouTube
Love this oldie but goodie!:
(158) FOOL’S GOLD by PETRA Lyrics Video – YouTube