Our Wealth Is in the Cross

Did you know that 15% of everything Jesus is quoted as saying in the Bible relates to the temptation to “treasure” money and material things? The reason Jesus did this is because there is a deep connection between money and material things and our spiritual life. Here’s one of those sayings of Jesus:

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or — worse! — stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” Matthew 28:19-34, The Message

Consider what Jesus is saying: “Don’t hoard treasure down here on earth.” Why not? Is it because earthly treasures are bad? No. It’s because they won’t last. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that money and material things are bad in and of themselves. It’s not money and material things that are at fault; it’s the people who use them. Before God created people, he created a vast world of pleasant and useful things. God’s creation was meant for man and woman’s use in joyful and constructive ways. But when man and woman sinned, the beautiful things of God’s creation came to usurp a place in their hearts that they were never meant to have.

The solution to our problems with money and material things does not lie in withdrawal of private property. It lies in the proper use of the things God has provided. We are not called to relinquish all money and material things. Jesus is not against having enough in life or even being wealthy. We need resources of many kinds to exist in life, and that’s okay with Jesus. The main thing is to put them under God’s direction, like to use them for the care, health, safety and well-being of ourselves and our family, for helping others and for promoting the good news of Jesus in the church and world. Otherwise, money and material things left unchecked can become very detrimental to our spiritual lives.

In the Jesus saying above, the first reason he gives for why worldliness in money and material things is foolish is that one day all money and material things will perish and be gone forever. So, Jesus is protecting us from accumulating money and material things and having nothing to show for our lives that should have been about “profitable service.” The second reason Jesus gives is that where a person puts their treasure is where their heart will be. What Jesus is really against is putting our trust in money and material things instead of God. In other words, we should not make a god of our money and material things and look to them for the security that we need in life.

We can worry about having enough, or we can worry about having more. Either way, Jesus says trust God and pursue the kingdom of God above all. Whatever our temptation with having enough, whether it’s worrying about basic needs or chasing more money and material things, our true treasure is Jesus. Our wealth is in the cross, where we set our hearts on Christ who set us free from the bondage of sin and gives us life now and life eternal. Once we have truly discovered this treasure in Jesus, we count everything else as loss.

Photo Credit: Aaron Burden