Eternal Stock Options- Matthew 6:19-21

 

Let's be clear, Jesus was very clear about "denying self," and "taking up crosses," and "losing life for [his] sake." He talked about counting the cost often to his followers and sometimes it seemed like he did so for the purpose of driving some of the free loaders away.

But when you really look into what he was saying and you really understand what is going on in scripture, you start to realize that God has never scrimped on His offers of reward. The difference for the true follower of God is simply the nature of the reward.

C.S. Lewis gives the illustration of the boy making mud pies in a slum who passes up a vacation to the beach because he has no comprehension of the beach and is enjoying himself all too well with the mud pies to bother himself with the beach.

It makes perfect sense that Jesus moves from the motivation with which we practice righteousness, pray and fast (for the recognition from men, or the for the recognition of God), to a very similar statement in verses 19-21 about the differences in treasure. Once again, I am incredibly thankful that God "knows how we are formed; He knows we are but dust" (Psalm 103:13). He doesn't ask me to do something just because it is the right thing to do. He has every right to do that...He's the Almighty God. Unlike Bill Cosby, He actually does have the right to say, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it." Yes, He could force obedience if He wanted to. But instead, He simply tells me over and over and over again that what he has planned for me is sooo much better than anything I could ever imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9)! And when I finally trust that what He is promising is really going to happen and I start making those decisions (including the first decision to put faith in Christ), then He changes me from the inside out based on His motivations and His power instead of just my own, through His Spirit that lives in me.

It's really a simple game of "Would you rather?" 

• Would you rather have riches for 95 years or for all of eternity?
• Would you rather have friends who will laugh at your jokes for a week or even a few years, or a friend who will stick closer than a brother for all of eternity?
• Would you rather "become one" with someone in thought or in deed for a fleeting pleasure over the next few minutes or hours, or experience a oneness with God that is beyond your wildest dreams?
• Would you rather be your own master and have lots of freedom and comforts and live selfishly now, or hear the one true master say "well done, good and faithful servant...come and share your master's happiness"?

Those questions are incredibly easy to answer when they are asked like that. They are a lot harder to answer with action in the small moments and decisions that seem so benign and yet lead to the point that we choose the temporary over the eternal.

It becomes a "chicken and the egg" thing.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Is the location of our treasure just a symptom of what kind of heart we have, or does our heart actually follow the places that we have piled up treasures?

I think the answer is yes.

That is why it is so crucial to weigh even the most seemingly benign choices about time, money, words, emotions, and relationships in the scale of the eternal versus the temporary. Will this decision add to my heavenly bank account or only to my earthly account? If the answer is the latter, then even if it doesn't seem like a big deal, then I need to stop and think about how many deposits I've already made to that account for fear that if I pile up too much...my heart will follow right along and be trapped on the wrong side of "would you rather."

I'd rather have riches in heaven, wouldn't you? What would my life look like today if that were true? What would yours? I almost feel like God is daring us to find out.

Secret Service- Matthew 6:2-4

Photo by flickr user gammaman

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:2-4

 Jesus has already addressed the overall principle of not doing good things for man's praise but for God's rewards and now he addresses three different areas that this specifically applies to, the first of which is giving to the needy. Before even addressing the principle of giving in secret, it is well worth pointing out that Jesus very clearly says, "when you give to the needy;" He never says, "if." It is a very safe assumption that if one is living a life that is pleasing to God there is going to be a heart and a willingness to help those who need help. That help can, and often does, come in many different forms and fashions, but you will not have to pray for opportunities to help someone very long before you have an opportunity to give in a financial way.

Coffman makes a great point about giving in his commentary on Matthew. "One's obligation to be mindful of human need and suffering is not totally discharged by the support, however generous, of any church budget." There is undoubtedly much good done through the local church office. However, I often wonder how much clearer the church's light would shine in this area if it were shining through individuals helping with needs as they see them in the community instead of the main source of benevolence being funneled through the "professional office." Either way, though, we are definitely called to a life of giving. Jesus takes for granted that the service of giving will be a vital part of any of his disciple's lives.

Now we can come back to the principle of being careful not to give with the purpose of human recognition and honor. I have heard of people in the past who have taken this teaching so literally that they hide their hands under a cloth while putting money in the collection plate in order to literally not allow the left hand to know what the right hand is doing. I hope we can agree that this is probably not what Jesus meant here. In fact, I think we would agree that it is not even necessary to be absolutely secretive about what we are doing. It is the heart and intent of the giver that Jesus is addressing and the inner motivations can be tainted even while following a very strict protocol of secrecy. After all, if people see me purposefully trying to hide my giving in obedience to this command, then they will think I am really a devout and good Christian! (Do you see how warped my mind is!?) However, if you are like me and do struggle with the recognition factor, then perhaps sometimes it is necessary and helpful to hide the giving that is done, if for no other reason than to train our hearts and minds to seek God's attention instead of others until we can give and do freely while only be conscious of His eyes.

Not long ago, my wife and I received an anonymous letter with a rather large sum of money included. I can't tell you the joy we felt that day. I would give anything to be able to thank whoever sent the letter to us, but the fact that they went to great lengths to conceal their identity actually made the gift that much sweeter because there was absolutely no way they had any motivation other than love. Coffman lists 5 reasons why giving in secret has much to commend it and that gift sealed these reasons in my heart and mind:

1. It assures purity of motive in the heart of the giver by removing the temptation to hypocrisy.
2. It protects and honors the privacy of the recipient, a privacy that is indispensable to his recovery and rehabilitation.
3. It protects the benefactor from a proliferation of calls upon his generosity.
4. It provides a noble basis for the development of true love and friendship between the helper and the person helped. 
5. It honors this specific commandment of Christ.  

I'd like to challenge each of us to attempt some "secret giving" over the next week or so. When you have had fun with it...get back on the blog and post a comment to tell us about what happened...Just be sure to post the comment anonymously of course:) That way, we can all be encouraged by your giving, and you can have the joy of knowing that the only person who knows that it was you who did whatever you will do is our Father in heaven. And then we can all praise Him together and be encouraged to look for more and more ways to give and love.