“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No 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."
Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction. The other day I came across a news story that just begged to be part of our current sermon series, “What Did Jesus Say?” – and, in particular, part of the sermon I am currently working on, “What Did Jesus Say About Money?”
The story was about Californian named Lou Balducci, who took a cushion off a weathered wooden rocking chair in his back yard and found Jesus. Actually, he found a knot-hole that he thought looked like the face of Jesus (see the photo below and decide for yourself!).
By his own admission, Mr. Balducci was “not very religious,” so he began to ask other family members and friends about the knot-hole. Many of them agreed that the knot-hole bore a vague resemblance to what they pictured Jesus to look like – and several indicated they thought it might be a “sign from God” – or that the old chair might have spiritual or healing powers.
So what did Mr Balducci do? He thought about it for a couple of months – then put the chair up for sale on ebay for $25,000.
Whatever else we might make of this story – it does introduce us to the issue of Jesus and money! So what did Jesus say about money?
Scholars tell us that Jesus had as much to say about money as almost any other topic. And in most of the places where he talks directly about money he simply assumes that money is necessary. Money – or some form of it – has been around from the beginnings of human civilization. From what we know of Jesus’ early life, he worked as a carpenter with his father, Joseph. We can assume that they were paid for their work. When Jesus left his carpenter’s shop to begin his full time ministry, his group of disciples had a treasurer (Judas) who was responsible to keep their funds. So, even for Jesus himself, money was necessary.
In this text from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of “treasure.” By “treasure” Jesus means money or material wealth. We all have treasure. We may have $100 million, or we may have 10 cents, but we all have treasure. The questions Jesus wants us to think about are: Where do we invest our treasure?
How is our treasure connected to our hearts? And, what does our treasure do to us?
With these questions in mind, thank God for the treasure he has entrusted to you and ask him to teach you how to manage that treasure for his purposes.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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