JESUS MONEY AND POSSESSIONS Part 3: Treasures in Heaven

GOD WANTS US TO HAVE WEALTH. WE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO SETTLE FOR MONEY. Max Anders

One of the myths that came out of the great Wall Street crash of 1929 is that some investors, distraught by their losses, committed suicide by jumping out of the windows of Wall Street high rises. Thankfully, that is not true. But sadly, some men did take their own lives. They just didn’t take their last leap on Wall Street.

As far as I can tell the most recent financial crisis has not sparked a rise in suicide. But it has caused some serious soul searching. And that’s a good thing considering the fact that Jesus had more to say about money than just about any other topic.

One of his more notable quotes is recorded in Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for your selves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (NIV) He might have said “where bear markets and housing bubbles destroy.”

The question is: what exactly did he mean by that? What exactly does treasure in heaven look like? Some other passages of scripture help us understand.

Matthew 19:21, among others, stress giving to the poor, giving to meet the legitimate needs of those who cannot meet their own. When we give to ministries like The Good Samaritan, Prison Fellowship, Feed the Children, Samaritan’s Purse etc. we are “Laying up treasures in heaven.”

1Timothy 6:18-19 Indicates that we can lay up more treasure by being rich in good deeds. The greatest benefit of financial security is not being able to insulate ourselves from the world but rather the freedom from the need to make a living so that we can serve others.

When my children were small we had the good fortune to find an excellent pediatrician in Atlanta named Dr. Bill Warren. Warren is one of the heirs to the Coca-Cola fortune. He didn’t need the money that his private practice generated. So he closed his private practice to open a non-profit clinic in Atlanta. As far as I know it is still there. When your own financial security makes it possible to forgo making a living so that you can help others live, that’s laying up treasure in heaven.

Philippians 4:15-17 indicates that giving to support the spread of the message and ministry of Jesus “credits our account” in heaven. When we partner with organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators and others that take the message of Jesus to places that we cannot personally go we are “laying up treasure in heaven.”

So what kind of treasure are you storing up? Is it the kind that bear markets and housing bubbles can destroy? Or will it last for eternity? As my friend Max Anders says, “God wants us to have wealth. We must be careful not to settle for money.”