Here's where we find (eventually) the bit about not serving both God and money. We also find the stuff about not worrying and about having our needs provided for.
In a big way, I think part of this is cautioning against heresy like the "Prosperity Gospel" and other New Thought things (like manifesting and if you don't get what you pray for you didn't believe it would happen). Actually, I think all of this part is staunchly against all of these things. Let's see what Stott says, and then I'll add a few of my own points at the end.
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"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. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6.19-34 (NRSV)
Notes from my HarperCollins Study Bible
- Unhealthy eye = stingy or jealous.
A Christian's ambition: not material security but God's rule.
- Our faith must be part of all we do, because God is with us through it all.
- God, sees in secret and knows our needs.
- We oughtn't be materialistic.
- Treasures--on earth vs in heaven.
Bodily conditions--light vs darkness.
Masters--God vs wealth.
Preoccupations--our bodies vs God's kingdom. - Fence-sitting isn't possible.
A question of treasure.
- Treasures on earth = insecure.
Treasures in heaven = secure. - Private property is permitted.
- Savings and preparation for known coming hardships are expected.
- We should enjoy the good things God gives us.
- It's selfish accumulation that is prohibited.
- Extravagance.
- Hardheartedness.
- Life = stuff.
- Materialism that ties us to the earth.
- The heart follows treasure.
- Laying up treasure on earth = covetousness and miserly.
- Laying up treasures in heaven = the Becoming.
A question of vision.
- Physical vision = see what we're doing, where we're going.
Spiritual vision = purpose, drive.
A question of worth.
- The comparison is with slavery rather than employment. Only one master is possible, so if you try to serve both God and wealth, wealth wins.
A question of ambition.
- Always check to see what the therefore is there for.
- All human beings are seekers.
- It is possible to be ambitious for God.
Two possible life-goals.
False or secular ambition: our own material security.
- Don't be focussed on material comforts to the exclusion of all else.
- Humans are more than bodies that need fed, watered, clothed, housed.
- Life is more than physiology needing protection, lubrication, and fuel.
- Plan for the future and take sensible steps for security.
- It's anxious thought that we are to avoid.
- Worry is incompatible with Christian faith.
- God created and sustains our life and body.
- Problems relating to Christian faith.
- We have to work--God provides, but we must cooperate.
- We are responsible to care for those in need: that's how God provides for them.
- A lack of worry doesn't mean a lack of trouble.
- Worry is incompatible with common sense.
- It is about the future and it may not even happen.
- Worry is wasteful.
True or Christian ambition: God's rule and righteousness.
- Seeking = worrying.
- Seeking first God's kingdom.
- Specific rule over believers, not over all of creation.
- Evangelism, missions work, is important because it brings more people into the fold and increases the company of believers, which increases the kingdom.
- Includes prayer for the consummation at the end of time.
- Seeking first God's righteousness.
- Make it attractive to the world. (So far we suck.)
- Some degree of righteousness is possible in non-believers.
- Embrace evangelistic and social responsibilities.
Conclusion
- Two kinds of ambition: focussed on oneself or focussed on God.
- Ambitions for God ought to be grandiose.
- When our primary ambition is for God, then self-focused ambitions can be considered.
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While this is, of course, about how individuals behave and relate to God and to one another, there are absolutely many cautions throughout for the Church as a whole. I'll get into that after I'm done the whole book (we're getting closer with every post I make in this series), which is when I'll be talking more about how we should be implementing all of this in our day-to-day lives.
Obviously we need money in order to supply our needs in this life. It takes money to provide clothing, shelter, and food. That doesn't mean we should be trying to get All the Moneys. Look after yourself, make sure you'll be taken care of if things get rough financially, and then start providing for the needy in society. That might mean you need to accumulate more wealth, but excess is not necessary and can be used to help those who need it most.
There is an absurd hypocrisy running rampant in the Church today, where megachurches encourage members to give every last penny to the church and the pastors of these churches live in mansions and own private jets, yet the cities they claim to serve have large numbers of people living in poverty.
But it didn't start with the megachurches.
It started when some brilliant person decided that Christian culture should be exactly like non-Christian culture, just with Jesus. So we have Christian bookstores with mass-produced, often poorly-written Christian fiction on the shelves and mediocre Christian music piping through the speakers. Christian comic books, Christian knick-knacks, Christian t-shirts, and Christian bumper stickers.
I stopped enjoying it around when What Would Jesus Do? came out and the WWJD bracelets became a thing. It was too commercial and it started to feel fake.
There are some excellent Christian authors out there, and some excellent Christian musicians. Don't get me wrong here; I do still partake in Christian cultural offerings. But I don't buy into it the way I once did, and I see the cracks forming as it tries to be so much more like the world.
We're losing our identity in Christ by trying to make ourselves more palatable to society. But placating those who would otherwise abuse us doesn't work in the long-term, and as long as we continue to erode our faith by denying a bit here and a bit there, we will one day wake up and realize that we've chosen the world, and we will regret that choice.
Peace & Blessings.
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