Matthew 6:19-23: True Wealth and Generosity

Script

Jon: The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of the teachings of Jesus, where he invites his followers into a new reality called the Kingdom of the skies.¹ We’re in this main block of teaching, which has three parts. In the third part, Jesus teaches how to live in right relationship with God and others.

Tim: Now in this part, the first section is about how our relationship to our possessions affects our relationship with God. This section has four teachings, and we’re going to look at the first one about sky treasure.

Jon: “Don’t store up for yourself treasure on the land.”²

Tim: When you have more than you need for today, you can store that possession away for another day. The Greek word here is thesaurizo, which means to store up.

Jon: So don’t store up treasure like jewels and gold coins?

Tim: Actually, in Greek it’s basically the same word, thesauros, literally “the thing you store up,” which here means stored wealth.

Jon: I see. It’s a wordplay. Don’t store up your stored things. But why?

Tim: Well, for starters, it’s a losing battle.

Jon: “Where moth and nibbler can ruin, and where thieves break in and steal.”³

Tim: We store things so we can feel secure and stable. But Jesus wants us to see that self-made security is an illusion. Your stuff is always vulnerable, and nothing lasts forever. But this doesn’t mean that the impulse to store up wealth is bad in and of itself. It depends on what you’re storing up.

Jon: “But store up for yourselves stored-wealth in the sky, where neither moth nor nibbler can ruin, and where thieves can’t break in or steal.”⁴ So what’s this sky storage?

Tim: Well, remember, Jesus was announcing a new reality that he described with sky language. But his point was that God’s Kingdom of the skies was touching down here on Earth. It’s a reality full of right relationships and peace and enough abundance for everyone to live generously.⁵

Jon: That sounds great, but it’s not our reality now.

Tim: Well sure, but Jesus said we can experience that eternal, heavenly reality now and here on Earth when we live by his teachings.

Jon: Okay, but how do I actually store up the sky stuff?

Tim: Well, it looks like the opposite of storing up because you gain sky storage by giving, caring for the well-being of others, serving in the name of Jesus, and loving your neighbor.

Jon: So sky stuff is stored with generosity.

Tim: Yeah.

Jon: But shouldn’t I do both? Be generous and store up some land stuff too?

Tim: Well, there were times when Jesus told people to sell all they have and give to the poor. But there were other times when he said to be wise and use money strategically.⁶ It seems that Jesus’ main concern was this deeper issue of what kind of people we’re becoming when our whole life is spent on storing up land stuff.

Jon: “For where your stored-wealth is, there your heart will be also.”⁷

Tim: For Jesus, our habits with our stuff are a window into our true desires in life. Do I only desire the security and well-being of myself and those closest to me? Or will I let God's love enlarge my desire to love others so that I can share the generosity of the sky down here on the land? That's the teaching about sky stuff. After this, Jesus tells a riddle about two types of eyes. It begins this way:

Jon: "The lamp of the body is the eye."⁸

Tim: In the ancient world, people thought of eyes as sources of light. Looking into someone's eyes is like looking through a window to the energy inside them. But what do you see when you look into someone's eyes?

Jon: "So then if your eye is genuine-and-generous, your whole body will be radiant."⁹

Tim: The Greek word here is haplous, which means simple or whole. It means that they are sincere in how they live, that is, genuine. And to say that someone has a haplous eye was a figure of speech for being generous. So we can combine those meanings with the translation "genuine-and-generous."

Jon: And being genuine and generous is a radiant way of being?

Tim: Yes, the outer light of generosity matches the inner light of a sincere desire to share that light and goodness with others. And all of that contrasts a different kind of eye.

Jon: "But if your eye is bad-and-greedy, your whole body will be dark."¹⁰

Tim: The Greek word here is poneros, which means bad. And to have a poneros eye was a figure of speech for someone who is stingy and greedy, and who withholds good things from others.

Jon: For Jesus, that's living in darkness.

Tim: Yes, darkness inside that projects darkness out to others.

Jon: "If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?"¹¹

Tim: Jesus is describing someone who is so used to living in a scarcity mindset, they truly don't think there is enough to share. They mistake darkness for light. It's like they've lost touch with reality.

Jon: And what is reality?

Tim: Well, for Jesus, ultimate reality is that God has packed all of creation full of abundant provision, more than enough for all people. And if we accept that reality, we will find it much easier to live with generosity so that everyone can experience the light of God's life.

Jon: Our mission at BibleProject is to help people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.

Tim: We're able to give away for free everything that we make because of generous people like you all around the world.