When we trust Yahweh for all we have, providing resources to others, both physical and spiritual, becomes a way of life that honors him.
Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Yeshua warns how all of the glittering things that attract our attention in this world are things that can divide our heart and purpose from the things of God.
Matthew 6:19-20: ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
When it comes to earthly riches, Yeshua warns about two factors that can affect what we have: the moth, and also what is here called rust. Interestingly, although we use the word rust in English, the Greek word simply means “that which consumes until it disappears.” Of course, rust is a consumer of metals and anything that may seem to have some stability and longevity in this world. Surely anyone who has had a vehicle in a climate where roads are salted in the winter is familiar with the effect of rust on something as tangible as a vehicle.
In reality, rather than talking specifically about the effects of rust on metal, Yeshua is explaining how everything that we can possess in this life, whether it’s money or tangible goods, are all consumed in one way or another. Ironically, in our current market-driven culture, the populace is known as “consumers.” Economically speaking, we even have a “consumer index” to determine how the economy is performing. We consume food, we consume entertainment, we consume housing, we consume energy; just about everything in this life is about using up resources.
By contrast, the life of a believer is all about generously giving: to give to those in need, to give back to God, to create new opportunities and second chances, to give freely and with cheerfulness. This is the contrast that Yeshua is placing before his hearers.
This teaching about earthly treasure is less about stuff and more about attitude. When we as believers can have the right attitude, and switch from selfish consumerism to generosity and giving, then God knows our heart is in the right place. It is then that his will can be accomplished through us.
1 Timothy 6:17-19: “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”
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