Books of the Bible
Treasure, Treasure, Toil and Treasure           

Matthew 6:19-24

ED
Grace to you and peace from God our Father,

JOHN
And our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

BOTH
Amen

ED
The title of the sermon for today is a paraphrase from Shakespeare. “Treasure, Treasure, Toil and Treasure.” Write that title down, kids.

JOHN
Today we're going to talk about money.  Material things, wealth, possessions, treasures.  When Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain he taught them about many things.  He taught them about practical matters -- matters of every-day life.  Jesus taught them about anger, lust, revenge, giving alms, prayer.  So is it any wonder he would also teach them about money?  Jesus wasn't about to leave that one out.  Money was an important issue for the disciples just like it is for us today.

ED
If money is important to you, would you raise your hand? Let’s be honest. For those of you for whom money is not important, would you also raise your hand so we can see how many liars we have here today. Jesus says, “Money is important to us.” We all know it. We don’t pretend otherwise.

JOHN
We collect preacher’s stories, including those stories about money. What are some preacher stories we have about money?

ED
John, in the last sermon, I had a story about a miser. But you also have a miser story. Why don’t you tell your “miser” story?  

JOHN
There was once a miser who got tired of everyone telling him that he couldn't take it with him.  He had heard that so many times he was sick of it.  "Well, you can't take it with you, you know."  He thought if he heard that remark one more time he was going to die. The miser was going to show everyone that he could indeed take it with him.  So he went to the pastor with strict instructions that upon the miser's death, the pastor would make sure that all the miser's money, in cash, would be buried with him.  The pastor was to take the cash put it in the coffin and make sure it was buried right along with him.  Well the miser finally died and the pastor did as he was instructed.  He got all the miser's cash assets from the bank but decided it would be too much work to put all the cash in the coffin, so the pastor wrote out a check, placed it in the coffin and put the cash in the church treasury.  I like that story. That pastor was a smart pastor.

ED
The story I like about money is the story of the Montana cowboy and his brother, the Seattle stockbroker. One time, the Montana cowboy came to see his brother, the Seattle stockbroker,  here in downtown Seattle. The two of them were right down town, on 5th and Pike. Taxis were going by; thousands of cars were going by; the buses were going by; thousands of people were going by. It was incredibly noisy. The Montana cowboy was walking along with his brother, the Seattle stockbroker, and the Montana cowboy said, “Did you hear that?” The Seattle stockbroker said, “Hear what?” The two brothers walked a little farther on that downtown busy street, and the Montana cowboy asked again, “Did you hear that? Did you hear that?” “No, what are you talking about?” They walked a little farther and he again asked, “Did you hear that? Did you hear that?” The Seattle stockbroker said, “What are you talking about?” The Montana cowboy said, “You see those weeds there in the cracks of the sidewalk and those weeds beside the buildings? Listen real carefully. There is a cricket down there. Listen carefully.” Sure enough, there was a cricket down there in the weeds in the crack in the sidewalk. Then the Montana cowboy reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver dollar and said, “Listen to this brother.” He flipped the silver dollar up into the air and it hit the sidewalk and it went “clank.” Everybody stopped. Everybody stopped and looked around and saw that silver dollar roll over the curb and into the gutter. The Montana cowboy said, “The peoples’ ears are attuned to the sound of money but none of them hear the sounds of the cricket.”

JOHN
We as pastors are also concerned about money. We are concerned about our salaries and about meeting the church budget. Have you heard the one about the three pastors who were discussing how they determined their salaries from the church offerings?  The first one said, "Well, I draw a straight line, and them I take all the offerings for the week and throw them in the air.  Whatever comes down on that side of the line belongs to God and whatever falls on this side of the line is mine." The next pastor said, "I draw a circle on the ground.  Then I throw the offerings into the air.  Whatever falls inside of the circle belongs to God and whatever falls outside the circle is mine." "You guys got it all wrong," said the third pastor. He was a Lutheran.  "I take each weeks offerings and throw them into the air.  Whatever stays up belongs to God and whatever comes back down is mine." That’s another smart pastor.

ED
There are not only good preacher stories about money. There are some great one-liners about money such as…

JOHN
"Let us all be happy and live within our means, even if we have to borrow money to do it."

ED
"Money is a good servant but a poor master."

JOHN
"Maybe we were better off when charity was a virtue instead of a deduction."

ED
“Whoever dies with the most toys, wins.” We know these lines. We hear them again and again.  John, let’s move in a new direction. What are some things we have noticed about money and human nature?

JOHN
Well, the first thing we notice is that along with money comes status. That is just true. That is the way our society works today. People respond differently to someone who has money.  If you are rich, there is the feeling that what you have to say is more important.  Your words are more significant.  If you have the right car, the right house, the right power clothes, then you are seen as more important in our society. 

ED
We see this in our own parish. Sometimes people in our parish go over to peoples’ homes to visit and perhaps have dinner. The other homes are nicer, the décor is nicer; the neighborhood is nicer. Some people in our parish feel like they are “the poor country cousins.” We have all gotten into those status games when we have visited another person’s home and felt that they were really rich and we weren’t.

JOHN
Then there is the illusion that money can buy happiness.  "If I just had a little more, then I would be happy."  The illusion that more money brings more happiness.  Ed, you had some statistics about that. 

ED
I have shared these statistics with you before, but they are worth hearing again. In the studies that have been done, all groups in society wanted 25% more money. The poor, the middle class, the rich. They all wanted about 25% more to be happy. If they had 25% more, that would be enough. The poor person didn’t want to be rich; they wanted 25% more and then they would be happy. The middle class didn’t want to be rich; they wanted to have 25% more and then they would be happy.  The rich people weren’t satisfied either. The rich people also wanted 25% more and then that would be enough. There is that illusion deep within us that we if we have a little bit more, that will be enough and we will then be happy and content. But what happens when you get 25% more? You want 25% more!!! And the cycle starts all over again.

JOHN
Another thing we know is that people tend to be very private and secretive about their financial affairs.  People just don't volunteer information about how much they make, their salaries, how much they have in savings, how much they're in debt, or anything about their budget.  It's a "mind your own business" kind of thing.  Did you know that the motto on the first coin minted by the United States wasn't "In God We Trust."  Do you know what it was? Believe it or not, "Mind Your Business." True story.

ED
And so what is often our attitude? “Mind your own business. We don’t want to have any sermons about money. Don’t you tell us what God wants us to hear. You just mind your own business, because our money is a private affair.” Not with Jesus. Nothing was a private affair with Jesus. Sex, marriage, anger. There is nothing which was private with him. So Jesus, knowing that we human beings are really concerned about material possessions, and about money and what it can buy, Jesus said, “Don’t put so much time and energy into accumulating material possessions which are going to rust and wear out. Money is not the source of happiness. Instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Lay up for yourselves spiritual treasures which will last forever.”

JOHN
Jesus also said, “You cannot serve two masters. You will love the one and hate the other. You cannot serve both God and money. It is either or. Either your energy is spent in the pursuit of money or your energy is spent in the pursuit of God and goodness and love. It is either or. You cannot serve both God and money.

ED
Jesus went on to tell a parable about a man who built barns and bigger barns. He wanted to build houses and bigger houses and still bigger houses. One time in the middle of the night, this man died of a heart attack. And Jesus said, “You fool. You fool who spend so much time building up your wealth. You fool. Instead, be rich towards God. Lay up for yourselves spiritual treasures.”

JOHN
What does all these Bible verses mean, Ed?

ED
We all know that there are many things in life that are far more valuable than money.  I don't know if there is any material thing that is truly priceless and yet there are many, many non-material items that we could never put a price on. 

JOHN
For example, Ed, how much would you sell your eyesight for?

ED
It's not for sale.  It is priceless.

JOHN
How about your mind, your mental capacity?  What would you sell that for?

ED
It's not for sale. It is invaluable.

JOHN
How about your children and grandchildren?   How much money would you take for one of your children?

ED
Not for sale. They are priceless.

JOHN
That makes me think about a story about the Louvre Museum. One of the security guards at the Louvre, the world's largest and most famous art museum, was once asked the question, "If the Louvre were to catch on fire and you could go back into the burning building to save one painting, which one would you save?  Would it be a da Vinci, a Rembrandt, a Van Gogh?"  Which one would you save if the building was on fire?  With very little thought the security guard responded, "The one closest to the door."  His life was more valuable than all the so-called priceless art work  in the Louvre.

ED
If your house was on fire and all the family and pets were safe what would you go back in to save?  Tell me, what valuable possession would you risk your life for? To go into a blazing inferno of fire in your house and risk your life? What possession? Nothing.

JOHN
What Jesus is saying, is that the heart is the treasury for heavenly possessions.  Not your wallet. It is not the bank. It is not your safe-deposit box, but the heart!  Jesus says, "Store up for yourself spiritual treasures and the heart is the treasure chest for these kinds of treasures.

ED
So John and I were asking the question of each other, “How do you go about storing up spiritual treasures in your heart? Not the treasures in your wallet, your bank, your safety deposit box. How does one go about storing up spiritual treasures in spiritual treasure chests? That is what Jesus wants. How do you go about doing that in a real, everyday life? How is that done in the family?  I think of Grandma Simpson when she died. The children, grandchildren, great grandchildren were here to celebrate Grandma’s Simpson’s life and resurrection. All the people had great memories of Grandma Simpson. She truly was a wealthy lady, one of the richest people in our church, but she lived in a very modest apartment. She had almost no material possessions. Who cares? Grandma Simpson was enormously rich. She had stored up treasures in heaven. That is what Jesus was talking about.

JOHN
How about in the work place?  How do we store up heavenly treasures at work.  I like the story about one of our youth advisors when he was interviewing for a new job.  He told his boss that he went to Mexico with the youth from his church and needed the last two weeks in June off but he still wanted his regular vacation time in addition to that.  The boss thought it over and told him he could have the weeks off and that the company would pay him for one of them.  I thought that was great!  Whether that person knew it or not, I believe he was storing up some heavenly treasures.

ED
We are to lay up for ourselves spiritual treasures in our hearts. It is not only with family and not only with work that we lay up for ourselves spiritual treasures, but it is also through the avenue of friends. I am thinking of an elderly person in our parish by the name of Maxine Johnson who cannot come to church. For many years now, Kathy ??? has been bringing her to worship faithfully, and now Phyllis Herman is also taking Maxine to church. All these people are laying up for themselves treasures in heaven.  Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven by giving yourself to those who are have special needs and that may be your mother, father, child, grandparent, or whomever you give yourself to. 

JOHN
Ed, it is important that we also talk about money today. Let’s go in a different direction. What is some of the practical advice that you and I think that a Christian congregation needs to hear about money?

ED
First of all we need to be financially responsible in our own personal lives.  We need to live within our means and make due with what we have.  Be careful about the dangers of credit.  Don't get too over-extended and fall victim to the great credit trap.  We just need to be responsible in regard to our material wealth.

JOHN
Another thing that we think is really important is the sheer joy of giving money away. To the Compass Center. To the homeless. To Lutheran World Relief. To the congregation. To whatever is the charity of your choice. 

ED
One thing we have discovered through the years is that the more mature a Christian is, the more they want to give away to charity. If a person is a new Christian or a Christian who has been a Christian for a long time but never matured, as a person grows more mature in Christ, you want to give more money away to people in need. The more you give away, the better you feel in doing that.

JOHN
Be very careful of the status game.  We all deal with this, but especially you young people.  Now, I know that you want to have the right clothes, the right cars, the right stereo and all the right CD's but be careful you don't treat people better just because they have all those "right" things or expect others to treat you better because you have all the "right" things. Be careful that your identity and your status is not wrapped up in material things that rust and fade away.

ED
One time, Jesus gathered his disciples together and they walked up into a mountain side. Jesus was talking to his disciples about the gnitty gritty issues of life. They were talking about anger and revenge, sex and love, prayer and phoniness. They were talking about those real issues of life. Jesus asked his disciples, “How many of you are concerned about money?” All of their hands were raised. They were all concerned about money. Therefore, knowing how concerned everybody was about money, Jesus said: 

JOHN
Be careful. Material possessions are only temporary in nature. Store up for yourselves heavenly treasures, treasures of the heart.

BOTH
Amen

 
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