A Goal Survey
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matt. 6:19-21, NKJV.
With these verses in Christ's inaugural sermon on the principles of His kingdom the action shifts from strictly religious matters to a Christian's attitudes toward the things of our world.
Jesus first treats the negative side of the issue, noting that earthly things lack permanence. The plain fact of the matter is that earthly wealth at its best is transitory. Moths, rust, worms, rats, mice, stock-market crashes, currency fluctuation, inflation, and a host of other things whittle away at it. Then there are thieves, individual and corporate. And in the end you lose it all at death. When I comes right down to it, there isn't any solid reason to trust earthly wealth.
In the second part of today's verses our Lord begins to focus on the positive--laying up our treasures in heaven. And He puts forth the general principle that "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
In examining this teaching it is helpful to go back to the first commandment, which reads, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3). That command is basic to the Old Testament. It not only shaped the history of the Jews, but also that of the life of Jesus' followers.
When applied to Matthew 6:19-21, we might helpfully paraphrase it as "thou shalt have no other goals before me." Then, suggests F. D. Brunner, we can paraphrase the intent of Matthew 6:19-21 to be: "Where your goal is, there will you heart be also."
Here is a crucial insight, because our goals determine our actions as well as everything else in our life. Thus where our heart is, or that on which we have set our heart, is all-important. Whatever it is will determine both how we live our lives and where we will spend eternity.
What is it that I love? What truly captivates my imagination, my spare time, my highest allegiance? Such questions can help me determine both the location of my heart and the shape of my goals. They are questions that we ought to meditate upon today.
Today Jesus is offering me a choice. Today He is appealing to my heart. What is my response? How shall I answer Him this day.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matt. 6:19-21, NKJV.
With these verses in Christ's inaugural sermon on the principles of His kingdom the action shifts from strictly religious matters to a Christian's attitudes toward the things of our world.
Jesus first treats the negative side of the issue, noting that earthly things lack permanence. The plain fact of the matter is that earthly wealth at its best is transitory. Moths, rust, worms, rats, mice, stock-market crashes, currency fluctuation, inflation, and a host of other things whittle away at it. Then there are thieves, individual and corporate. And in the end you lose it all at death. When I comes right down to it, there isn't any solid reason to trust earthly wealth.
In the second part of today's verses our Lord begins to focus on the positive--laying up our treasures in heaven. And He puts forth the general principle that "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
In examining this teaching it is helpful to go back to the first commandment, which reads, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3). That command is basic to the Old Testament. It not only shaped the history of the Jews, but also that of the life of Jesus' followers.
When applied to Matthew 6:19-21, we might helpfully paraphrase it as "thou shalt have no other goals before me." Then, suggests F. D. Brunner, we can paraphrase the intent of Matthew 6:19-21 to be: "Where your goal is, there will you heart be also."
Here is a crucial insight, because our goals determine our actions as well as everything else in our life. Thus where our heart is, or that on which we have set our heart, is all-important. Whatever it is will determine both how we live our lives and where we will spend eternity.
What is it that I love? What truly captivates my imagination, my spare time, my highest allegiance? Such questions can help me determine both the location of my heart and the shape of my goals. They are questions that we ought to meditate upon today.
Today Jesus is offering me a choice. Today He is appealing to my heart. What is my response? How shall I answer Him this day.
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