Getting Job-ed
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth… For where your treasure is there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:19, 21, 24 CSB
It may have sounded weird to talk about pocessions in a part that is discussing anxiety, but I can really feel the tension and war in my life between these two as being interrelated. I feel like a lot of our anxieties in life are, at the root, built around building and preserving a way of life and comfort. Society tells us we have to have reliable cars (aka, the newest/more expensive cars), huge TV’s, brand shoes, nice purses, great jobs, x amount of money in retirement (to keep that life going once we retire), smart phones/devices, homes, vacations, etc. It’s not that any of those things on their own are bad or that there’s a par quota of not going above this amount and then you’re a Christian. There are plenty of rich people in the Bible, and never does it talk about what amount is too much. However, Jesus really does reveal that this “Pursuit of Happiness” creates unnecessary stress for us. And I’m not just talking about unbelievers, I’m talking about Christians also, as subtle as it can be in our lives.
Jesus calls us to see that where our treasure is that that’s where our heart is. I can’t remember the pastor, but I remember him saying: “How do you know what your treasure is? Have it taken away from you and how do you react? That will reveal what your treasure is.” That’s an interesting perspective.
“Pursuit of Happiness” in the “American Dream” is futile…
For sure in America, we believe that we are so self-built, self-reliant, self-sustaining, that all we have is truly ours. This “Pursuit of Happiness” in what we think will make us happy and in the “American Dream” is crap, to say it nicely… That’s not what the Bible teaches (Matthew 6:33, Job 1:21, amongst so many others). God is supposed to be our treasure. Jesus is really saying that, “if I’m not your treasure, then you have nothing.”
“…anything else that we put our trust in apart from Him is like a personified enemy…”
When Jesus draws the line and says, “you cannot serve both God and money,” the Greek word for “money” is “mamona” which means anything we trust in, treasure, or riches, however, it is personified. This is to say that whatever we trust in almost turns into a being that we trust in. That maybe sounds a little strange, but God sees that anything else that we put our trust in apart from Him is like a personified enemy in opposition to Him. So, when I get bent out of shape and stressed about a 401k or lack thereof in hopes to someday retire in paradise, God sees that as an opponent. I can’t serve two masters, and God is jealous for that place (Exodus 20:5).
I wanted to end this part for us to see that anything else that we trust in is futile in comparison to a Sovereign God. God knows that and wants us to trust in Him. Although the life of trusting in Him may not be as comfortable or convenient, the reward and payoff will be exponential. That is a real anxiety relief for me.
-Austin
References
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. Strong’s Greek: 3126. Μαμμωνᾶς (Mamónas) — Riches, biblehub.com/greek/3126.htm.
