Devotional Sharing, Submitted by Richard Tay, Gracepoint Berkeley
What is the relationship between worries and storing up treasures in heaven? The relationship of worrying and storing up treasures in heaven is that worry often prevents me from storing up treasures in heaven, and it evidences the lack of a holistic heaven-perspective. Worrying occupies my heart and mind, increasing anxiety over contingencies and hypotheticals, which makes me less available and alert for situations that occupy the present, including the good work that God has prepared for me today. Thus, having a proper perspective about heaven and my eternal destiny makes me into a person who is more faithful with today. In addition, worrying (especially about things i cannot control) evidences a profound lack of trust in God. God is sovereign, God is eternal, and God is trustworthy with every detail of my life. The more I worry, the more i assert control and leave God out of the picture, the more I put my life into my own untrustworthy hands. Untrustworthy hands… though this reality is not easy to accept, it is the truth. Thank God that he has rescued me from my own undoing of my life. God indeed promises that he will be with me through all circumstances. Since his love never fails, what have i to fear? What do I have to worry about? My greatest treasure, then, is my identity as a child of God, my relationship with God, which is something that will carry me through eternity. This heaven-bound perspective was exemplified through the testmonies I heard at the Fall Retreat. The testimony of the Huckabees assure me that regardless of what comes my way – quadrapelegia, cancer, failure, abandonment – I can trust God, put my hope in heaven, and continue to live storing up treasures in heaven instead of selfishly worrying about things on earth and/or living through a victim’s complex. Regardless of my situation and my circumstances, I can love God and love his people, and in that way, invest in eternal things.
Matthew 6:1-34
- Why is it folly to engage in acts of almsgiving, prayer and fasting “before men”?
- What is the relationship between worries and storing up treasures in heaven?
- What is the significance of the repeated mention of our “heavenly Father” in this passage?
- Based on this passage, am I living for earthly reward or heavenly reward? How is this evident in the way I engage in religious acts, how I spend my money and what I worry about?
Matthew 6:22-24
- What lessons can I learn regarding the power of the eyes (i.e., what I see / focus on)?
- What have my “eyes” been full of?
- What has that done to my heart?
- Why would it be impossible to serve both God and money?
Additional Questions:
Matthew 6:1-4
- Describe the attitude of someone who does not “let your left hand know what your right is doing.” Compare this attitude to mine when I engage in “acts of righteousness.” To what extent do I suffer from a desire draw attention to myself and seek human recognition?
- In what ways can I grow in my awareness of the gaze of God, the “Father, who sees what is done in secret”?
Matthew 6:5-8
- What warnings about prayer does this passage have for me?
- What may be their view of God when people ‘babble’ with “many words?”
- Why is it absurd to pray “on the street corners to be seen by men?” Are there these kinds of contradictions in my own spiritual life?
Matthew 6:5-13
- How does addressing God as “father” affect my view about prayer and how I relate to God?
- What is implied in praying for God’s holiness and His kingdom before other prayer topics?
- What does Jesus’ instruction to pray for “[God’s] will [to] be done on earth as it is in heaven” imply about what is happening on the earth?
- What can I learn from this about the importance of prayer and my role in advancing God’s will?
Matthew 6:12, 14-15
“Jesus’ disciples have responded to his charge to repent, and their sins are now forgiven. But they are not simply to relish their own state of forgiveness; they are also to forgive others. Those who have received forgiveness are so possessed with gratitude to God that they in turn will eagerly forgive those who are ‘debtors’ to them. Once disciples have received forgiveness and salvation, they are to forgive with the same forgiveness with which they have been forgiven. This is the evidence that they are indeed forgiven.”[1]
- How often do I pray for forgiveness for my sins?
- What is the relationship between confessing my sins and being able to forgive others?
- Assess the degree to which I am generous toward others when they sin against me.
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. “Matthew 6:1 – 18” In NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew. By Michael J. Wilkins, 269-291. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 2004.