#13 Jesus Warns His Disciples About Covetousness
Matthew 6:19-25
1. Jesus commands His disciples about hoarding. Matthew 6:19-20 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. “
a. The negative commands “Do not lay up treasures upon this earth (Matthew 6:19).
1) Does this mean Christians must not have a bank account? Answer: Probably not. This is unqualified discourse from our Lord.
2) Proverbs 30:8-9 says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. 9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.”
b. The curses of earthly possessions
1) Moth – A clothes moth
2) Rust – brosis – A general term for any kind of corrosion.
3) Thieves – Matthew 24:43 says, “Thieves break through and dig.” It is the act of a thief breaking into a home.
4) It costs money and effort to protect money.
5) There are also the losses due to the foolishness of the one who has the money. The owner may cost himself more money than the burglar costs him. The cure for this is to read this study and live by it.
c. The positive commands – Lay up treasures in Heaven. Matthew 6:20 says, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
1) The Greek word for “lay up” is thesaurizo, which is the same word from which we derive the English word “Thesaurus.”
2) The Greek word for “treasures” is the same word as “lay up” but it is a noun rather than a verb. It is a word for treasures of any kind.
3) Do not hoard but serve God with your treasures. Matthew 6:23-24 says, “But if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No one can serve two masters: 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 both God and money.”
4) The assets of Heavenly treasures have:
a) No moths
b) No rust
c) No thieves
d. The motivation not to hoard: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
1) Your heart is the seat of your intellect, your mind, and your will. Romans 10:6 says, “But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” We think in the deep recesses of our heart.
2) Your heart is the seat of your emotions. Romans 9:2 says, “I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.” We feel emotion in the deep recesses of our heart.
3) Your heart is the seat of your will. Hebrews 4:12 says, “It (the word of God within us) judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” So, our heart is the seat of our intentions, which emanate from our will.
e. How to grow through obedience to the command not to hoard:
1) John 14:21 says, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
2) Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
3) Galatians 5:4 says, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” Legalism stunts our growth. If your heart is upon earthly things, you will not grow as a Christian. We have an interest in Heaven. So, store your treasures there, by serving and giving.
4) It is impossible to be perfect all at once. We cannot expect to give a million and be perfect instantly. We must take the little steps of giving, day-by-day, week-by-week, and whenever there is opportunity.
5) Psalm 119:99 says, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.”
6) Giving avoids traps. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
f. Illustrations that Jesus gave to His disciples:
1) The illustration of the healthy eyes and the diseased eyes:
2) Matthew 6:22-23 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
a) The light of the body is the eye. The only natural light that your body has, comes through your eye.
b) Light rays must pass through the cornea and the lens, then fall on the retina, from which the optic nerve transports the impression of the light to the brain.
Sketch of a Human Eye
c) You must have a healthy cornea, lens, and retina, optic nerve, and brain to possess normal vision.
3) If your eye is single (KJV) or uncomplicated with the disease of sin, you have light in your soul. Matthew 6:22 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.”
a) The Greek word for “single” is haplous, which means simple, liberal, or generous. “Simple” or “Single” (depending upon the translation) means that your eye has no complications of disease. Jesus uses it in two senses:
(a) Sense #1 Physical – An eye that functions with no complications, a healthy eye.
(b) Sense #2 A moral, spiritual, and ethical eye – Insight that has no moral, ethical, or spiritual complications. If the eye is healthy, with no complications, it is a healthy eye, and therefore, it is a generous or liberal eye. The sinful person is always devising evil things in his mind.
(c) Romans 12:8 says, “if it (his gift) is giving, let him give “generously.”
(d) 2 Corinthians 8:2 says, “In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich “generosity.” The word “generosity” is haplotetos, which is the same word “haplos,” that Jesus uses for a “simple” or an eye that is not diseased. The healthy spiritual eye is generous. Sin cannot stand in the way of compassion if Lord has taken it away.
(e) Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
(f) Ephesians 6:5 says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect, fear and “sincerity” of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” The word “sincerity” is also “haplos,” which means, not diseased by sin. This is another way to describe a born-again person.
(g) The “single” eye speaks of a “single” heart, which is not diseased by sin. Note: Other Scriptures reveal that no Christian has a perfect eye. And God is spiritually healing the hearts of all born again people. All Christians have living eyes in this sense.
(h) If a person has a single eye, he has uncomplicated vision, and his whole body can see.
(i) If one’s eye is evil, it is diseased. The Greek word for evil is poneros, which is a contagious evil. The word is from ponos, which is used of those who gnaw their tongues for pain. Revelation 16:10-11 says, “And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish (ponos). 11and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.”
(j) The meaning of an evil eye is that a diseased, blind eye has complications. Those whose eye of the soul is diseased, are stingy. The disease of the soul of which He speaks, is greed.
4) If the spiritual light that is in you is darkness, that darkness is great.
5) Stinginess (Matthew 6:23), worry (Matthew 6:25), and doublemindedness can eliminate Divine viewpoint (Matthew 6:24). Another term for Divine Viewpoint is a sunlit soul (Matthew 6:23). But Jesus always shines in our hearts.
6) 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
7) 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
8) Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will devote yourself to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
a) We can easily and sinfully make money into a god.
b) If money is our god, we will despise the Lord Jesus Christ. That is how important it is to understand this Scripture about money.
2. The value of money
a. The limitations of money: It is not a good god, as no god other than God, is good.
1) It cannot satisfy the deepest needs of man. Ecclesiastes 5:11 says, “When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?”
2) Money subtracts from the peace of a person. Ecclesiastes 5:12 says, “The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.”
3) There is great harm in hoarding wealth. Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 says, “There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, 14or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.”
4) Money cannot spare us from animosity. Proverbs 15:16 says, “Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.”
5) Money cannot deliver us from strife. Proverbs 17:1 says, “Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.”
6) Money is an elusive prize. Proverbs 23:4-5 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.”
a) Have the wisdom to show restraint.
b) Money is not worthy of our abandonment of all else.
c) Lot chose economic opportunity but lost everything (Genesis 13).
7) There are great dangers in money.
a) There is the temptation to forget God – Deuteronomy 32:15 says, “Then Jeshurun became fat and rebelled— you became fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.” HCSB
b) Deuteronomy 6:10-12 says, “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, 11with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, 12be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
c) Proverbs 30:8-9 says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. 9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.”
d) Philippians 4:10-13 says, “Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. 12I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and to being hungry, to having plenty and to having need. 13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Paul could do poor as easily as doing rich.
8) There is the temptation to trust riches. 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”
9) Job 31:16-20 says, “If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, 17if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—18though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— 19if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, 20if his heart has not blessed me’ for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,”
b. The world thinks money is the road to gratification. Proverbs 18:9-10 says, “Whoever is slothful in his work Is brother to him who destroys. 10The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” What the name of the LORD is to the believer, wealth is to the unbeliever.
c. Proverbs 18:23 says, “The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.”’
d. Wealth is the spawning ground for greed. The more one makes, the more he wants. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, “Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” So, be content with what you have. Use the time to prepare for eternity.
e. Wealth can expose a person to the criminal element in society. Proverbs 13:8 says, “Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.”
f. The contributions of money to one’s life:
1) Money improves one’s physical life. God richly provides us with all things to enjoy.
2) 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”
3) Money improves social position. Proverbs 14:20 says, “The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich.” Note that this is an observation, not a precept.
a) Proverbs 14:21 says, “He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.”
b) Proverbs 19:6-7 says, “Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver. 7All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.”
4) Money can be a defense against temptation. But too much money tempts us also. Proverbs 30:8-9 says, “Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. 9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’” Too much or too little money can lead to sin.’”
5) Money can provide a protection against calamity, medical issues, and legal matters. Proverbs 10:15 says, “The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.”
6) Money can give a person economic leverage. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”
