Facts on Treasures for 9-13 Year Olds

Categories: Sermon on the Mount

• Next, Jesus continues to discuss some of the everyday concerns that might derail his disciples.
• The first one has to do with treasures.
• Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…”
• People have long believed that prosperity, wealth, is a sign of God’s favor.
• Here, Jesus warns about accumulating, storing up, earthly treasures.
• They oftentimes give a false sense of security: we may feel safe, but we’re trusting in the wrong things to make us safe.
• The Greek word for “Do not store” relates to “treasure.”
• A literal translation would be: “Do not treasure up for yourselves treasure on earth.”
• “Treasure” here means whatever is valuable to you.
• It doesn’t have to mean just money. It can mean electronics, clothes, toys, etc.
• It is whatever enslaves, whatever binds or limits us, whatever is sought to provide security.
• Typically, however, treasure often does just the opposite.
• Treasure creates a great deal of stress, worry, anxiety. People have to get more; they have to secure, or make safe, what they have.
• Nonetheless, all earthly treasures can be destroyed or lost.
• There can be lots of problems with them; Jesus mentions three.
• These are all examples of decay, ruin.
• “Moth and rust destroy….”
• A moth is nature’s way of corroding or ruining things. Even the tiniest moth can destroy the most elegant fabrics.
• Rust really means “eating.”
• Rust is time’s way of corroding. Rust isn’t just a problem with metals; it can also destroy crops and vines as the chemicals eat them away.
• Jesus is basically warning them not to obsess about clothing and food.
• Moths and rust represent all the natural elements that make earthly treasures break down and eventually lose their purpose.
• A third concern is when “thieves break in and steal….”
• Thieves are humans’ way of ruining things. They take from others to benefit themselves.
• There are more examples that Jesus might have used, but these three indicate the transitory, temporary, and slippery nature of earthly treasures.
• Jesus wants to free us from all that.
• He wants to liberate us from a misspent life—wasting our lives chasing after things that don’t bless us.
• He is not trying to remove these desires; again, he is redirecting them.
• He is saying, “Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
• Here again, the wording means, “Start treasuring treasures in heaven.”
• “In heaven” is directly opposite to “on earth.” But it does not mean waiting for the afterlife.
• “In heaven” can mean “with God,” so “treasuring heavenly treasures” means working with God at one’s side, here on earth.
• He does not define what these treasures would be, but doing good for others is a main point of the Sermon.
• Jesus acknowledges the very close relationship between one’s heart and one’s treasure.
• “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
• The heart, to them, is not considered to be the center of feelings; it is the core of one’s being.
• People thought of the heart much the same way we think today of the brain.
• Their understanding of heart had to do with motive, direction, and source.
• It is clear that our goals are often like “gods”—we worship them.
• If our goal is to impress people, then our center will be people and trying to win their approval and admiration.
• If our goal is to please the Father, then our center will be the Father and His honor.
• Goals determine actions.
• Goals, even the best, most honorable ones, have to be lodged in a real relationship with God. Otherwise, they are always subject to the disappointments of earthly decay.
• Even the loftiest aspiration, if rooted in the want for human esteem and admiration, is misspent, misused.
• Only a goal which seeks only, exclusively to please the Father is safe from human vanity, ego, decay.