Featured What is a heavenly treasure?: Treasures in Heaven: Matthew 6:19-24

I think 'Treasure in Heaven' is a metaphor for the realisation of the Holy Spirit or Rule ("Kingdom") of God. So Jesus means to say that his direct disciples (who had become itinerant celebate missionaries like Jesus himself) should let go of their family life and try to forget about worldly pursuits and focus on self-realisation ('Treasure in Heaven') only.

Most christians however are not itinerant missionaries so they should somewhat compromise and try not to get attached to the people they take care of nor to their worldly affairs by offering the colours of their daily life and these affairs to Christ (Jesus gives special prayers to be able to do this better or easier).

 

Jesus was saying that we won't know when or where we will find the Kingdom of Heaven, but when we find it nothing else will matter to us. No different than Jesus telling Nicodemus that he had to be born again to enter the Kingdom of heaven, that Nicodemus could no more pick the time and the place of his second birth than he could pick the time and place of his first. A treasure is a gift, not a wage.

Matthew 13:44-46
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

 

The kingdom of heaven is here and now but cannot be realized until a time and place of God's choosing.

 

I don't think we understand each other quite yet so please be patient with me as I make another comment.

When the folks in the parables found the treasure they sold all they had to possess it. Certainly the audience of the day thought it very odd to pay for a treasure that they discovered giving them cause to ponder (giving cause for ponder was the point of the parables wasn't it). Why? Why would the folks in the parable sell all they own to purchase something they already have? Isn't that odd? Unless that was the point of the thing, right? Consider how silly it must have sounded to the audience of the day that "the meek shall inherit the earth", I bet a whole lot of very non-meek people walked away from that speech laughing and shaking their heads. Jesus spoke of storing treasure in heaven and the rich (like Nicodemus) immediately go on a treasure hunt. We discover the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven at a time and place of God's choosing, and what we discover we realize has always been there but didn't know it. Isn't that just like a treasure? We have no idea that there's treasure right beneath our feet until we find it and then we realize it has always been there?

 

Let's both believe that popularity on RF isn't a heavenly treasure lol. I personally can see no appeal of literal treasures in heaven.

 

Jesus said....“Be on the alert and on guard against every kind of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15)

Storing treasures on earth is discouraged because as Jesus says, we can't buy our life and no amount of wealth will secure it. Jesus also said that "it would be easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God".

Something we have worked for all our lives can be lost in a moment.....a flood...a fire...a landslide....any disaster could result in losing copious amounts of accumulated wealth....but what good is all the money in the world if we lose our lives?...."you can't take it with you"...right? If all our efforts have been to accumulate wealth for selfish reasons, then they are of no real value to God or to the person who owns them. The time could have been more productively spent in acquiring spiritual riches.

So "treasures in heaven" also have to be worked for. These are the things 'treasured' by God...our Christian works....our obedience to God's commands...our thoughtfulness in helping fellow humans in distress....all the things Jesus did and taught, if they are applied, are accredited to our heavenly 'bank account'.

Treasure can be hidden and once we know they are there, we will spare no effort to bring them to the surface.....this applies to material treasures but also to spiritual ones. How willing are we to dig in God's word for the copious gems that are hidden from cursory readers?

Effort is always rewarded by God, but the effort must have the goal of making a person spiritually rich...the only real wealth that has everlasting value.

That is how I see things.

 

This is fallen human nature at work.....we are all in the same boat as far as that is concerned....looking to benefit ourselves in any given situation...but if we are following Jesus' example, it is self-sacrifice that brings God's approval. Jesus did not have a sinful nature to fight 24/7...but we do. As Paul said..."For the flesh is against the spirit in its desire, and the spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do the very things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17) How often do we feel disappointed in ourselves when we have allowed the flesh to win.

It is a human system, so not one that can be relied upon to remain incorrupt. Storing of data is one thing...what they will end up using it for may shock us in the future. Our privacy is something we value, but we are entrusting our privacy more and more to people we don't really know and who could, in the future, use it against us. There is so much now that appears to be beneficial...but would be frightening if used against us in some way.
Those we thought would protect us, may turn out to be our worst enemies unless we are strictly compliant. Freedom and Democracy are really an illusion IMO. Our 'perceptions' of everything are being carefully 'managed' without us even being aware of it.

I guess that depends on what you do with it. A treasure can be stored away in a vault, but what is the point? If I have a 5 million dollar diamond necklace that I can never wear for fear of it being stolen, what is the point of owning it? If, on the other hand, I sold that necklace to someone who really wanted it and had the cash, and then used that 5 million dollars to benefit others, then I have sacrificed my earthly treasure for the kind that Jesus encouraged. The two primary requirements of those who follow Christ are 1) to love God with everything we are, and everything we have...and 2) to love our neighbor as ourselves. Both are required in equal measure.

The Bible says that we are all to follow in Jesus' footsteps and to emulate his example. He live a simple life of service to others. There were no material things to get in the way of his mission. He did not tell us to live an austere life, but to keep material things in their place.

The apostle Paul wrote at 1 Timothy 6:6-10..."To be sure, there is great gain in godly devotion along with contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. 8 So, having food and clothing, we will be content with these things. But those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge men into destruction and ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains."

This is so true....the love of money is a trap. Jesus said..."No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God and for Riches." They are opposite courses.

I once heard a saying that hit the nail on the head for me...."Contentment means wanting what you have, not having what you want". It's a good rule of thumb especially if we live in a materialistic country where the latest 'thing' is always promoted and people follow like sheep because they fall for the hype...being parted from their money like animals to the slaughter. Recognizing the manipulation will help us not to lose our focus. I think we all need a wake up call.

 

The one thing Jesus taught was balance....not too much...not too little. I know you didn't want scripture but it forms the basis for everything I believe....Proverbs wisely says ..."give me neither poverty nor riches. That was because material riches can make one's life content enough not to need God. (Proverbs 30:8-9) Somewhere in the middle is where we need to be.

When we see Jesus discouraging the chasing after wealth, he wasn't at the same time recommending poverty or austerity. There were rich and poor and everything in between in Jewish society back then, just as there is today.....he was not judging them but simply warning of the dangers of becoming complacent in a materialistic way. Spiritual things should have first place. (Matthew 6:33)

It isn't 'covetousness' to want nice things....we are designed to appreciate beautiful and useful things.....coveting is when we allow desire for those things, (advertised on the media and possessed by others who like to flaunt them) to dominate our thinking and take over our focus. We all need to make a living...but we don't need to create a lifestyle where we see luxuries as necessities. The world of today can't tell the difference. We have to learn to do that because the influence around us is going in the opposite direction. We have to be the proverbial salmon swimming in the opposite direction to a powerful tide.

Its all about the balance and what we see as priorities. No one said it was going to be easy, but taking our ques from Jesus is a good place to start evaluating how we feel about what we own. How important are they to us? If we lost them all tomorrow, would we recover quickly or be devastated forever? How attached are we? Asking those questions is a good place to start IMO.

 

If you remember it was the written "letter of the Law" that Jews had to keep...scrupulously. They didn't have to think for themselves because it was all laid out for them....and guess what? They still blew it. What do we learn from this? That laws in themselves do not make people obedient....that has to come from the reasoning of the heart. Its "why" we are obedient that matters. God is more concerned with "why" you do something that "that" you do it mindlessly. He is constantly reading our thought processes and motives because these always precipitate actions. Can you see the wisdom in that?

Jesus came and abolished the letter of the Law (as in mere mindless performance) and emphasized the spirit behind it. e.g. Jesus said that if a man keeps looking at a woman (to whom he is not married) so as to have lust for her and he does not immediately dismiss those sinful thoughts, opportunity is the only thing standing in his way. As far as Jesus is concerned, he has already done the deed in his heart. Do we get the import of what Jesus is saying? We are all sinful and will have sinful thoughts at times...but like anything you feed...it will grow. Jesus says to starve out that thought...kill it before it has a chance to grow.

Well, awakening us out of our complacency is a very individual thing IMO. How can a Christian stop pointing to the Bible for all their answers? If we don't take our ques from Jesus, who else are we going to listen to? Christianity is not about rigid performance to a set of rules. It is who, and what we are, 24/7. It is a reasoned and logical adherence to a set of rules that God himself made for us. If we have a Christian mindset, then this should not create any hardship for us. If we need help, then the Bible and the holy spirit are there to reinforce our resolve to do better. God has never expected perfection from imperfect people....but at the same time, he will not accept excuses either.

Asking how others have put these things into practice is only looking to see how they as individuals in their own unique circumstance may have behaved. But I believe the "how to" for us as individuals, is up to us and the relationship we personally have with God to start with. If we have a greater desire to please God than to please ourselves, it will happen naturally....it will not have to be forced.

That my friend is all part of the illusion. Ask the homeless about freedom. How many of them are used up veterans who thought they were fighting for freedom and democracy? How has it repaid them? Ask the innocent ones in prison as victims of an unjust legal system how they feel about freedom. Ask the ones who are dealing with drug addicted parents, children or partners how free they are from violence in their own homes. Do you live in a bubble? Are you blinded by the illusion too? Do you understand how propaganda works?

I think you just answered your own question. My "pessimism" is founded on Bible prophesy which places us at the "time of the end". Rather than live in fear, I actually welcome what is coming, difficult and all as it might be to live through it. The outcome will mean true peace, real freedom and unending peace for all, not just for the privileged few.

In Luke 21 is Jesus' account of the events that will precede the end of the present system of things....we have witnessed just about all of them. Jesus then said..."But as these things start to occur, stand up straight and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is getting near.” (v 28) It is nothing to dread.

Again, it is about balance. Is a $5 necklace an extravagance? I don't think so. But if I saw someone who could do with the $5, realistically who would I sell a $5 necklace to? Its about what our own hearts impels us to do. But remember that we are flawed and sinful, so there will always be extremes of too zealous or too slack....find the middle ground and be content to do what you can when you see a need. That is all Jesus asks of us. e.g. If I was going to buy myself a $5 coffee and I saw a homeless person who could do with it it instead of me, then wouldn't it be nice to do a random act of kindness and feel good about it all day? No one had to know except me and the homeless person.....and of course, God.

What is the lab work? How people follow the textbook is really up to them. But balance is the key.

I have been a JW for over 45 years and for us, random acts of kindness are part of our ministry. We engage in our door to door preaching as you know, and when we see a need we will do our best to help anyone we come across who genuinely needs some assistance. We don't have "charities" with people at the top who rake in huge salaries, because Jesus promoted self-sufficiency, not hand-outs. So when we see a need, we do our best in our individual circumstances fill that need. It can be as simple as running an errand for someone who is too ill to go to the store or the pharmacy. Doing a bit of shopping or any small thing that might help someone who is in genuine need goes a long way to show people our "Christianity" in action. We will not be taken advantage of though....too many who utilize charities are just bone lazy and have no desire to change their ways. "God helps those who help themselves" is a good saying.

We teach people the truth from God's word and how to be self-sufficient, not how to be reliant on the generosity of others. It sorts the sheep from the goats pretty quickly. We will give people a hand up, but not a hand out. That to me, is true Christianity in action. (1 Timothy 6:3-8)