Matthew 6:19-24
I was curious about what has been the most expensive Christmas gift in history. The answer surprised me a bit. The answer is the Orlov Diamond, which is so valuable as to be priceless, but wasn’t a Christmas gift at all.
Here’s the story behind the gift: “The Russian Empire’s Catherine the Great was overly fond of diamonds, so when a 189.62-carat diamond in the shape of half a chicken’s egg from India came to her attention, she was smart to enlist the help of her lover, Count Orlov, to acquire it. Consequently, she named it Orlov’s diamond and had it encrusted in the Imperial scepter.
“While some stories had Orlov present the diamond to Catherine as a Christmas gift, in reality Orlov did not have the means to pay for the immense price of the diamond himself. Catherine could, however, but spun the Orlov gift story as a way to deflect criticism for her excesses, using the state budget on jewelry.
“While there are many estimates to the actual price of the Orlov Diamond, its historical value far outweighs any valuation we would have of it today.” (financesonline.com)
As followers of Jesus, we recognize that the only truly priceless Christmas gift is God the Father’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. His birth, life, death, and resurrection have made it possible for every one of us to transcend the limitations of this earthly life by receiving the eternal life He offers us. His presence beats all other Christmas presents.
God blesses every heart that is wholly His.
1. Put your treasure where your heart is and put your heart in heaven. (vs. 19-21)
The problem with earthly treasures (19) is the fact that they are not secure and merely temporary. For example, the normal processes of nature (i.e., MOTHS and RUST) will make them worthless. The envy and greed of others make them vulnerable to thievery. Time and other people are not on your side; ultimately, death will make all your possessions worthless because you can’t take it with you. Trusting earthly treasures will make you feel insecure.
The advantages of heavenly treasures. (20) Heavenly treasures are perfectly secure. Heavenly treasures are exempt from natural forces like MOTHS and RUST. Heavenly treasures cannot be stolen as God holds them in perfect trust. Trusting heavenly treasures will give you perfect security, peace, and comfort.
This is important because the things we TREASURE are the DESIRES of our HEART, our greatest priority and most persuasive passion. (21) To make earthly things the object of your fondest desire, your first priority, and your greatest passion is to invest your precious life in something that will break your heart and fail to truly satisfy you. Earthly things are utterly meaningless where the afterlife is concerned. The best and noblest are still only temporary.
The better choice is to make heavenly things the object of your fondest desire, your first priority, and your greatest passion. You do this by investing your precious life in things God has commanded and approved. In this life, these things strengthen your heart and are truly satisfying. They are trustworthy for the afterlife because they are of God and will stand for all eternity.
2. Keep your eye on God’s glory. (vs. 22-23)
What you look at becomes part of you. (22) These verses may sound like a different subject matter, but truthfully, Jesus is simply using a different body part to make the same point. In the previous three verses He referred to the HEART. Here He used the EYE as a symbol of choosing what’s important to us, what we prioritize. Think about it this way: what you choose to look at, the lingering, longing look that betrays interest, those are the things that you truly desire and prioritize.
It has been scientifically proven that the EYE is the only part of the human body that can perceive light. In that sense, it does PROVIDE LIGHT FOR YOUR BODY. (It should come as no surprise to us that our Creator knows how our bodies work!)
However, Jesus used the eye as an example of how to live the moral life. When you choose to look at things that are good - Jesus used the word HEALTHY - then your whole being is FILLED WITH LIGHT. LIGHT is symbolic of good.
On the other hand, if you choose to look upon evil - Jesus used the word UNHEALTHY - then your whole being is FILLED WITH DARKNESS. DARKNESS is generally symbolic of evil.
Verse 23 concludes with this warning against hypocrisy: IF THE LIGHT YOU THINK YOU HAVE IS ACTUALLY DARKNESS (emphasis mine). Jesus said, “HOW DEEP THAT DARKNESS IS!” He’s warning us that you cannot stare into the darkness too long before you end up being in the dark yourself. You can’t play with sin or nurture any kind of evil in your eyes without being corrupted and dominated by that evil.
The difference between the two ways we use our hearts and our eyes is as profound as the difference between light and darkness. (23) In these verses, Jesus took a moralistic approach. In this life, He taught, we have to make daily choices to do right or wrong, good or evil. It is the accumulation of these choices that both reveal and reinforce our character.
In nature there are many shades of light and darkness. In morality, people ceaselessly complicate relatively simple moral situations, creating shades of gray, occasionally requiring us to choose the lesser of two evils. However, Jesus, for the sake of clarity, did not compare light with darkness, He contrasted them. To make our choice as clear as possible, He got down to the truth that there is only good and evil.
A lifetime of choosing evil will impair your life in this world. At Judgment Day, such a person pays the ultimate penalty for their darkness: being cast out of God’s presence and into Hell. A lifetime of choosing good will empower your life in this world. At Judgment Day, such a person receives the ultimate reward for living in the light: being welcomed into God’s presence for an eternity in Heaven.
3. Make your choice: it’s impossible to live with divided loyalties. (v. 24)
Attempting to serve two masters is not just that it’s bad for you, it’s impossible. Jesus said, “NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS,” stating a principle of human nature; we can have only one number one priority. He illustrated this principle with slavery. No slave belonged to two owners. If that were possible legally, it would soon be proven unworkable personally, for the slave would “HATE ONE AND LOVE THE OTHER; BE DEVOTED TO ONE AND DESPISE THE OTHER.” We may like to think we’re smart enough to manage divided loyalties, but Jesus said it was impossible: “YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND BE ENSLAVED TO MONEY.” Jesus used money as an example, but just about anything can divide our loyalty.
Since it is necessary to choose our priorities, Jesus urged us to choose God.
- When God is our priority, we understand that the world and everything in it is His.
- When God is our priority, we use money and other material resources as ways and means to bring glory to Him.
- When God is our priority, we respond to people and life with love.
- When God is our priority, we see the world from His perspective and submit to the Spirit and the word of God our guides in this life.
Jesus was not a fund raiser, making constant pleas for support as we see in this world. Still, He spoke about money more frequently than any other subject. I believe the reason for that is that money is something that quickly and accurately reveals what’ in a person’s heart. What we do with money and how we feel about it will either prove we are followers of Jesus or disprove all claims to fellowship with Him.
God blesses every heart that is wholly His.
Write down these capital letters: W-Y-S-I-W-Y-G. It’s an acronym and is pronounced “wizzywig.” The letters stand for “What You See Is What You Get.”
Blogger Martha Chalker explained WYSIWYG in a helpful way: “What you see is what you get” or WYSIWYG refers to the ability of the computer screen to display an accurate rendition of the finished page. [This is a function that allows you to preview your finished document without having to print it.] However, I’ve always used the term to describe individuals I consider authentic or true to themselves in a healthy way.”
Comedian Flip Wilson has sometimes been credited with coining the phrase, but it was already in general use. However, his use of the phrase echoed Chalker’s call for plain speaking, having no hidden agenda, and to let your reputation speak for you.
But WYSIWYG is also useful for explaining Jesus’ teaching on the eye. What we choose to look at with our eyes, to dwell on with our minds, to desire in our hearts in the “What You See” part. We naturally pay more attention to the things that are more important to us, but it also works the other way; the more attention we pay to something, the more important it will seem to us. That’s the “What You Get” part. It’s a cycle. If your attention is devoted to God, He will occupy more of your life.
Perhaps it will help to think about your life as an investment in the afterlife. On the one hand, if your attention and affection are on worldly things, you’re investing in an afterlife in Hell. On the other hand, if your attention and affection are on godly things, you’re investing in an afterlife in Heaven. Since this life is temporary and the afterlife is eternal, it makes sense to invest ourselves in Heaven.
Jesus’ teaching on this passage is that worldly things are necessary for life, but they must never be our life. Our life is in God. This world is not our actual home, so we must not become more attached to it than we are to God. Our priorities need to be, as follows:
God
Others
Self
Stuff
It’s not enough to say God is our priority, but we must give evidence of that commitment in the way we live. When we do so, we will be blessed and will be a blessing to others. The material world promises happiness and satisfaction but does not deliver on those promises. God promises joy and salvation and He delivers every time.
RESOURCES:
David L. Turner, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol. 11, The Gospel of Matthew, 2005, pp. 104-109
Commentaires