These last four weeks, the Island Leadership School has been doing a study on Matthew 6:19-21, and I thought it wise to share learned insights with the world at large, intending to spark some godly thoughts and influence perspective shifts during these times of economic insecurity in our nations today.
“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” (NKJV).
After a thorough look at this passage we’ve interpreted in light of various related portions of Scripture and settled on the following meaning for this controversial commandment from the Master:
A disciple of Jesus should work to store up spiritual treasures in heaven, ensuring his heart remains with God where it should be, while not heaping physical possessions for himself on earth. God will supply his every real need, and will give extra so that he can give to others, but a disciple should not seek riches or be a person of excess. He is called to live differently than the world and to be rich in God.
One of the many ways the God-breathed Bible indicates we might amass spiritual wealth is through secret, sacrificial giving to others, especially to the poor and needy. The issue is not whether God desires our happiness or if He’s really good, since that is obviously revealed throughout the Good Book. We’re talking about the state of our hearts before God and harnessing the overflow of our provision to either give or withhold life from another human soul. Our decision on financial stewardship is a choice between our own personal comfort and the very life and eternal destiny of another.
It’s fully up to you. You, who have been superabundantly blessed beyond measure and without ability to contain, were not given extra funds to squander on comfort drinks or luxury hamburgers. You, who fall into the category of top 10% of the world’s wealthiest (an elite group of only about 700 million), were not blessed to bless yourself with the latest fashions and keep up with newfangled technology and motorcars, but yea, verily, to bestow life upon the nations of the world. You and I have the extreme privilege of using our worthless, combustible monopoly money to purchase eternal destiny for the sub-fortunate.
Living in this wonderful worldwide web means that we have endless opportunity to give both creatively and purposefully in whatever way the Master would direct. Please prayerfully consider devoting your earthly treasure to some of the following options (all of which are impacting destinies for under $1/day):
- Purchase Bibles for Christians starving for the Word of God: from $1/Bible | Impact Ministries, Plead the Cause, Bible League
- Build an elementary school for AIDS orphans in Uganda: $3.45/month | The Cause
- Send an orphaned teenage girl to College: $10/month | Amani Life Project
- Send an impoverished slum-dwelling child to school: $28/month | Gospel for Asia
- Fund a native missionary’s Bible school education for evangelism and church planting: $30/month | Gospel For Asia, Plead the Cause
- Support an orphaned child with a family, food, clothing, shelter, and hope for a future: $30/month | King’s Kids Village, Otino-Waa Village, Osanidde Village
The awesome truth is that you might store up eternal spiritual treasure for yourself by storing up the basic necessities of life for them. Opportunities abound.