Where the Heart is
Matt 6:21 ”Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”
Ok. So this past Sunday I delivered a message that by all accounts was a pretty hard message. If it makes you feel any better, I really don’t enjoy delivering those type messages but I did it because I passionately believed it was a message we needed to hear. The message was borne out of lessons God has taught me in a real and painful way over the last year and the rampant materialism that is so evident in our American culture.
Materialistic idols are bad and they keep us from pursuing the deep riches of a committed life to Christ. My desire is to proclaim truth so that people can experience a life full of worship and devotion to our King.
The thing that concerns me most about yesterday’s sermon is that some people didn’t connect with what I was saying. While I did rant about our materialistic idols, I did not say that it is wrong to have things. I don’t believe that it is wrong to have cars, or houses, or paintball guns, or name brand clothes, or shoes, or X-boxes. I do believe it is wrong when those things are more important in a persons life, than Christ. We determine what our priorities are through simple diagnostic tests. How do you spend your time, your money, your energy, and your attention? How you answer these questions will show you alot about what you consider to be of primary worth. Sometimes our pursuit of things moves into a sphere they do not belong. When they do, they have become more than a possession, they have become an idol.
The Bible is clear about how we know when we have made something an idol in our life. When you push God’s clear commands aside so that you can spend time, energy, money, attention, etc. on material things, then they have become idols. When you elevate something in your life to a position higher than God, then it has become an idol. There is simply no rebuttal for this. It is clear biblical truth.
I talked alot about money yesterday. It is our greatest indicator of what our gods truly are because how we spend our money often shows where our heart truly is. This is the wisdom of none other than Jesus. You can try to do mental gymnastics and say that God really doesn’t care about your money, but you will be very wrong. The Bible has a great deal to say about money, and how you spend it. James says that the love of it is the root of all sorts of evil. God specifically tells us to give a tenth of our income back to Him because this will be a primary indicator of where our treasure is. If we willingly surrender a tenth to our provider, then He is shown to be our treasure, at least as far as our money shows it.
The story of Jesus’ discourse with the rich young ruler is of primary importance in a discussion like this. This man came to Jesus and asked Him how he could get into heaven. Jesus at first gave him commandments. The man felt his confidence rising as he said, “I have kept all of these since my youth”. In other words, this was a man who had lived up to the established religious standards of the day. Jesus pressed further though because He knew this young man’s heart and knew who is god was. So Jesus told him to sell his possessions and follow him and he would have eternal life. The Bible says that the man “went away grieved because he had many possessions”. Jesus knew that his materialism was idolatrous. The question on the table was how one attains eternal life, yet this man was unwilling to trade his stuff for eternal life. This is staggering. This is how strong the idols were in his life.
If you are angry or convicted about this sermon remember that the trade-off is costly. We don’t know if the rich young ruler repented, but if he didn’t, his idolatry cost him his eternal life. If you are genuinely struggling with wanting to be obedient, but still feeling the pull of these altars in your life, you are not alone. It requires a daily surrender and a life commitment, but you can do it.
I pray that God will work in your heart and reveal to you His wisdom.
Leave a Comment