Money & Trust
Sermon Recap
It is an altogether common condition of life to find ourselves worrying. And maybe especially so when it comes to what we have or own. Is it enough? Enough that I – and the people I love – will be ok?
As we approach Jesus’ teachings in Matthew on wealth and worry, we have to keep in mind that preparation is never condemned. Other parts of Scripture would teach us that preparation is a form of wisdom. But even the wisest preparation has limits when it comes to living in constantly changing circumstances.
Underneath all our planning is a desire for safety, or a security in knowing that the future is held. We want to know that we are not one unexpected crisis away from everything falling apart.
In this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to this by addressing: Where you store, How you see, Whom you serve, and What you carry.
Where you store (Matthew 6:19-21). When Jesus brings up a conversation on “treasure”, he uses a word that pointed to more than just money. It is more like “storage.” In Jesus’ time, people would have desired to store grain or other hard goods. In our time, we store wealth or reputation or career. Jesus warns about the thing you store becoming a thing that stores your heart. Something you consume can become a thing that consumes you.
In contrast, Jesus calls his disciples to store treasure in heaven. This is not a call to consider a heavenly retirement account! Matthew 19 tells the story of a rich man called to sell his possessions and follow Jesus. Jesus call to us here is about a transfer of trust, letting the Father’s care be the reality on which your life rests.
How you see (Matthew 6:22-23). It feels odd to find comments about eyes in the middle of a conversation about wealth. But it is related. In Jesus’ time, the eye didn’t just show the world to you, it also revealed the world inside you.
Jesus says our eyes can be healthy or unhealthy. An eye can be generous – or stingy. Your eye reveals your perspective and shows what you trust. When you look at your world, do you see abundance or threat? How you see reveals what your heart actually trusts.
Whom you trust (Matthew 6:24). Jesus says we cannot serve God and wealth. The Aramaic word for wealth – mammon – is sometimes used untranslated. The idea of mammon includes money and wealth as a kind of power or control, rivaling our trust in God himself. Note that Jesus doesn’t say we cannot have God and mammon, just that we cannot serve them both.
The issue for Jesus isn’t about possession, it is about devotion. There is a world of difference between having money and the reality that money has you. You cannot build your life on both.
What you carry (Matthew 6:25-34). Many translations express “do not worry” as “do not be anxious.” Hearing Jesus bring up worry only to begin talking about birds and flowers may initially sound like an abstraction. And for most of us, anxiety isn’t abstract. There is an inner voice that speaks to us in the face of fears telling us that “it is all up to me.” We feel these pressures not just in our minds, but in our bodies. Like a rock that sits on our chest preventing us from breathing freely.
Jesus’ instruction “do not worry” may hit our ears less like a comfort and more like an accusation. But as we listen, we understand. Jesus is reframing the reality we live in. In Genesis, life begins in a garden of abundance. In that garden, the serpent whispered the lie that God was withholding good from us. That lie of scarcity echoes down into our own time.
As Jesus announces the presence of the kingdom of God, we see how scarcity is chased away. The sick are healed, the lame walk, bread is multiplied. Even death begins to give way. These are not just miracles, but glimpses of a world held up in the generosity of the Father.
One day that kingdom won’t just break through, it will be all there is.
Jesus reframes reality and frees us from the anxiety of carrying a weight we were never intended to carry. The word for “worry” can also mean “deep concern.” Like a love that takes responsibility. The opposite of worry is learning that your life is held by the loving Father who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers.
Entering Conversation
We recognize that every small group has its own conversational dynamics. Feel free to use either set of questions below – or use your own! – in order to structure your talking together. As you do, remember that our goal, always, is not to end up with merely better knowledge of the teaching, but to help each other respond to what was taught.
1. Reflect back on what you heard in this sermon, or on the thoughts that have come afterwards. What stood out to you, either because it was new/interesting, or because you felt like the Spirit directed your attention to it?
2. What might it look like to respond in some way to what you heard? (NB – this is where community can be helpful. Sometimes we don’t know what to do with what we heard, but others can help us identify ways of responding. Be free to help each other, graciously and gently, listening for what the Spirit may be prompting.)
3. As you close your time, pray together. Practice naming your fears and anxieties before God, inviting Him to carry those concerns and help you learn to trust His care.
- OR –
1. As children, we often see our parents worried about things that are far outside of our care. Do you have any memories of seeing your father or mother particularly worried? What did they do with that worry?
2. Worrying and feeling anxious is seemingly a universal human condition. What are the kinds of things that you most often find yourself being worried or anxious about?
3. Reflect on how your “eye” (perspective) might increase your experience of anxiety. What of Jesus’ words might change your “eye” and help you find freedom in trusting those specific areas to the Father’s care?
4. As you close your time, pray together. Practice naming your fears and anxieties before God, inviting Him to carry those concerns and help you learn to trust His care.