Matt6:19-36 FAITH TRUST CONFIDENCE Part 2

Part of the "Design of a Disciple" series
2nd November, 2008

"It is, I think, impossible to grasp Jesus’ command to not worry without understanding that he is asking for us – as people of God – to put our faith and our trust and our confidence in him. Alone...
"Here we come down to faith, down to trust, down to confidence... if you’re not trusting in Jesus here, you will either fall to greed or fall to anxiety. And both of those are absolute markers of our society today." (From Part 1)


Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Let’s not misunderstand this. It’s not saying we should have nothing to do with money. It’s not saying that the holiest thing we can do is to swear vows of poverty and give it all to the church. It's not saying that putting money in the bank or superannuation account is wrong.

It is saying this. If you’re stockpiling, ask yourself why. You only stockpile things that you trust – nobody stockpiles junk. Be wise, be shrewd, be careful and responsible stewards with what God has given you – the Bible’s very clear about that, too. But don’t hoard out of a lack of trust in God. Don't hoard, fearing that the Lord will suddenly stop providing for you.

Moving on a mite – Matthew 6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body. Now this bit used to puzzle me. Good eyes, bad eyes, evil eyes, black eyes… all a bit Halloween, really. It feels pretty random, here in a patch about treasure, money and trust. It sounds like something that should be over in Chapter 5 (with the eyes being plucked out and tossed away). And this is one of those passages where critics point to, and say it's evidence that what we’ve got here in Matthew 5-7 wasn’t really a sermon – it's a chopped-up mash of teachings, put together by a sloppy editor later.

But here’s something really interesting – they’re wrong. It’s right where it should be. A Jewish Christian by the name of David Stern did a commentary on the New Testament[1], and he made this observation: “In Judaism, having a good eye (ayin tovah) means being generous, and having a bad eye (ayin ra’ah) means being stingy. That this is the correct interpretation is confirmed by the context, greed and anxiety about money being the topic in both the preceding and following verses.” A good eye means being generous, a bad eye means being a miser. In that light, look at verses 22-23 again.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light in you is darkness - how deep is that darkness!
If you’re generous to others, if you trust God enough to let go of some of your money to help other people, then you glow! Go back to a verse Matty talked about three weeks ago – Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven. And you know what? That sounds like it fits there just fine. Doesn’t it?

Next step in the same thought. No-one can serve two masters. Now, if you’ve just been told that the darkness in you is great, if you’ve been described by Jesus as having a bad eye, as being stingy…are you in control of your money, or is the money in control of you? Who’s working for whom? Are you in darkness or are you in light? Remember what we saw when Jesus talked about murder, adultery, righteousness…
What he’s talking about is the real state of the heart, the real heart that drives actions – not actions designed to cover up the heart.

Here’s a quiet little test to subject ourselves to… is my view of money, is my treatment of money, driven by anxiety and fear of it running out? Is it driven by greed for more, envy at what others have, for a little more luxury and comfort? Or is it driven by a genuine understanding and trust that God is in control? No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

What’s the mark of a follower here? What’s the design of a disciple? Faith, trust, confidence. Someone who trusts God with everything… even money.
And that’s not easy.

It’s downright scary.

Next: True Trust


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[1] For more information on the work of David Stern visit http://www.messianicjewish.net/jntp/index.html