30 "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.
I am totally reminded of Job’s words after all of his earthly goods and all of his ten children were suddenly taken from his hand:
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1:20-21 (NIV)
We leave this world exactly as we entered this world – with empty hands. I am confident many have heard this before, but you never see a U-Haul following a hearse – you simply cannot take your “stuff” with you! Remember that Jesus tells us our treasures should be in heaven NOT under our roofs! The following, my friends, is God’s economic plan:
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)
While enjoying the blessings God’s hand bestows is certainly not a sin, living for them is. Our grasping of and holding tightly to our earthly treasure is, quite simply, greed, not to mention our hoarding of it. We are simply not to keep an earthly mindset towards acquiring more and more to spend only on our pleasure with no regard for others. If we are not careful, the deceitfulness of wealth will choke out the seed of the gospel making it unfruitful in our lives. Remember what Jesus says in the Parable of the Rich Fool:
16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)
Later in Luke Jesus adds:
10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? Luke 16:10-12 (NIV)
Worldly wealth should be the servant of the disciple of Christ not the other way around. In our verses for today, Jesus stresses the point that we are not to go back for our earthly goods upon His return – we are to leave things behind – in turning back we evidence a heart that is divided. Just like our verses in Matthew cited:
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:21(NIV)
God tells us very clearly in Scripture that we cannot serve two masters:
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matt 6:24 (NIV)
If we find ourselves coveting wealth and money we will discover that we are indeed slaves to the master of greed. Not a pretty picture to say the least! By the way, we do not have to have money to be greedy; anybody can suffer from that sin even the poorest of the poor. It is God’s desire to deliver us from this sickness. He tells us to:
13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13 (NIV)
As God always made provision for the poor - the Israelites were never to glean to the edges of the field so that the destitute could find food – we too are to live open handedly:
9 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. Lev 19:9-10 (NIV)
“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this, and could not contradict him, but they sneered at him. Let us consider this as their sin, and the fruit of their covetousness, which was their primary sin. Many who make a great profession of religion and abound in the exercise of devotion, are yet ruined by the love of the world. These covetous Pharisees could not bear to have that touched, which was their Delilah, their darling lust; for this they derided him, they turned up their noses at him, or blew their noses on him. It is an expression of the utmost scorn and disdain imaginable. They laughed at him for going so contrary to the opinion and way of the world. It is common for those to make a joke of the word of God who are resolved that they will not be ruled by it.” Matthew Henry