You Can't - Both And
There are many things in life and society that we can have, good or fast, but not both. But we want both. We want two very different things at the same time, but we can’t actually achieve them.
Jesus starts His ministry off with one of the most famous sermons, “The Sermon on the Mount.” And if you can think of something Jesus said, it’s probably in the Sermon on the Mount.
This takes place in 1st Century Rome. There was a lot of mistrust of the Roman Empire from the Jews, and there was a significant disparity between the rich and poor. There was a great awareness from the listeners at the time that financial circumstances led to opportunities, status, and the ability to create stability and security.
Matthew 6
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
So, this traveling teacher comes along, says some great things about God, and then makes this shift to an uncomfortable but tangible subject – treasure. However, Jesus isn’t only addressing the wealthy, he’s speaking to everyone. He’s pointing out a human condition that money merely exposes.
We think accumulation brings security. We believe that if we have more, plan right, and stockpile to have enough, we’ll be untouchable. There’s nothing wrong with being a good steward of what God’s given us. It’s important to work hard, invest well with our time, talent, and resources, and be unfoolish with what we’ve been given. The Bible talks a lot about using wisdom when it comes to our stuff here on this earth.
The temptation we fall into so often is the mentality that if we have more, we have secured for ourselves the ultimate protection.
But Jesus flips that mentality on its head.
Jesus says: Don’t lay up for yourselves (don’t store) treasures on earth because two things can happen: it can be destroyed, or it can be stolen. Instead, lay up treasures in heaven because that’s where it won’t be destroyed or stolen.
We all store up something. Jesus simply invites us to take inventory of where.
It’s not a question of “if” we do it, it’s a question of “where” we do it. Storing up treasure is a question of location.
We all tend to collect, accumulate, and gather to provide and secure our protection. We need to be mindful of where we do that. Jesus is saying that if the way we see treasure and security is healthy, then we’ll see everything healthily. If not, then everything will be dark and unhealthy. It all depends on the lens we’re looking through.
Jesus explains that if we want to reinterpret the word treasure, not to mean money, we can’t serve God and money.
Money highlights our need for provision, protection, and security – showcasing our desire for control. These things in and of themselves are basic human needs, but when they become the driving force in our lives, it becomes a bad thing.
Jesus’s audience would have been familiar with slavery, servants, and masters. We place our well-being and future in something other than ourselves by serving someone or something. It becomes complicated for us if money offers the illusion of a different reality, one in which we are the creator.
Money tempts us into thinking that we can control our security and well-being. It tells us where we stand, who we are, how in control we are, and how much security we have. It becomes a “god” to us if we look to it as a source, serve it, give it our full attention, and believe that it will provide for us.
You can’t look to God as the source of your provision and look to money as the source of your provision simultaneously.
We can’t look to both as our source because it leads to anxiousness, which spans everything from social discomfort to debilitating clinical mental conditions.
In the 1st century and today, Jesus knew His words were for broken people. He also knew that because of our fallen state, even followers of Jesus wouldn’t escape the impact and effects of sin. Jesus isn’t saying things shouldn’t concern you. He’s referring to a state of being (anxiety) as a response to fear.
Jesus tells us not to live and exist in a way where fear controls us, we believe we won’t have enough, or we think we need to provide everything for ourselves. He acknowledges that anxiety exists but tells us to serve God instead of trying to be God because the latter is where anxiousness comes from.
Jesus also doesn’t say that if we follow Him, we won’t feel anxious or be tempted to control our lives. He’s saying there’s a way to combat the anxious way of living, accumulating, storing earthly treasures, and playing God ourselves.
We’re not immune from human struggles just because we follow Jesus, but the way we combat the anxious way of living is to seek first the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 6
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
All these things are everything said prior – food, clothing, shelter, and our needs. This is NOT a formula where if we do x, we get y. It’s a perspective shift that says when we’re embracing the way of Jesus, He provides for us, and we don’t live unsettled lives run by fear of not having enough.
We can’t do both/and. We can’t serve two masters. We either love one and hate the other, or serve one and despise the other. You can’t do both – it causes anxiousness in our souls when we try to serve God and BE God. So what master are we serving? What kingdom are we seeking?
There’s great freedom on the other side of seeking Jesus and His Kingdom because it allows us to live as we were designed to live – free and seeking after Him.
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Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
Jesus starts His ministry off with one of the most famous sermons, “The Sermon on the Mount.” And if you can think of something Jesus said, it’s probably in the Sermon on the Mount.
This takes place in 1st Century Rome. There was a lot of mistrust of the Roman Empire from the Jews, and there was a significant disparity between the rich and poor. There was a great awareness from the listeners at the time that financial circumstances led to opportunities, status, and the ability to create stability and security.
Matthew 6
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
So, this traveling teacher comes along, says some great things about God, and then makes this shift to an uncomfortable but tangible subject – treasure. However, Jesus isn’t only addressing the wealthy, he’s speaking to everyone. He’s pointing out a human condition that money merely exposes.
We think accumulation brings security. We believe that if we have more, plan right, and stockpile to have enough, we’ll be untouchable. There’s nothing wrong with being a good steward of what God’s given us. It’s important to work hard, invest well with our time, talent, and resources, and be unfoolish with what we’ve been given. The Bible talks a lot about using wisdom when it comes to our stuff here on this earth.
The temptation we fall into so often is the mentality that if we have more, we have secured for ourselves the ultimate protection.
But Jesus flips that mentality on its head.
Jesus says: Don’t lay up for yourselves (don’t store) treasures on earth because two things can happen: it can be destroyed, or it can be stolen. Instead, lay up treasures in heaven because that’s where it won’t be destroyed or stolen.
We all store up something. Jesus simply invites us to take inventory of where.
It’s not a question of “if” we do it, it’s a question of “where” we do it. Storing up treasure is a question of location.
We all tend to collect, accumulate, and gather to provide and secure our protection. We need to be mindful of where we do that. Jesus is saying that if the way we see treasure and security is healthy, then we’ll see everything healthily. If not, then everything will be dark and unhealthy. It all depends on the lens we’re looking through.
Jesus explains that if we want to reinterpret the word treasure, not to mean money, we can’t serve God and money.
Money highlights our need for provision, protection, and security – showcasing our desire for control. These things in and of themselves are basic human needs, but when they become the driving force in our lives, it becomes a bad thing.
Jesus’s audience would have been familiar with slavery, servants, and masters. We place our well-being and future in something other than ourselves by serving someone or something. It becomes complicated for us if money offers the illusion of a different reality, one in which we are the creator.
Money tempts us into thinking that we can control our security and well-being. It tells us where we stand, who we are, how in control we are, and how much security we have. It becomes a “god” to us if we look to it as a source, serve it, give it our full attention, and believe that it will provide for us.
You can’t look to God as the source of your provision and look to money as the source of your provision simultaneously.
We can’t look to both as our source because it leads to anxiousness, which spans everything from social discomfort to debilitating clinical mental conditions.
In the 1st century and today, Jesus knew His words were for broken people. He also knew that because of our fallen state, even followers of Jesus wouldn’t escape the impact and effects of sin. Jesus isn’t saying things shouldn’t concern you. He’s referring to a state of being (anxiety) as a response to fear.
Jesus tells us not to live and exist in a way where fear controls us, we believe we won’t have enough, or we think we need to provide everything for ourselves. He acknowledges that anxiety exists but tells us to serve God instead of trying to be God because the latter is where anxiousness comes from.
Jesus also doesn’t say that if we follow Him, we won’t feel anxious or be tempted to control our lives. He’s saying there’s a way to combat the anxious way of living, accumulating, storing earthly treasures, and playing God ourselves.
We’re not immune from human struggles just because we follow Jesus, but the way we combat the anxious way of living is to seek first the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 6
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
All these things are everything said prior – food, clothing, shelter, and our needs. This is NOT a formula where if we do x, we get y. It’s a perspective shift that says when we’re embracing the way of Jesus, He provides for us, and we don’t live unsettled lives run by fear of not having enough.
We can’t do both/and. We can’t serve two masters. We either love one and hate the other, or serve one and despise the other. You can’t do both – it causes anxiousness in our souls when we try to serve God and BE God. So what master are we serving? What kingdom are we seeking?
There’s great freedom on the other side of seeking Jesus and His Kingdom because it allows us to live as we were designed to live – free and seeking after Him.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
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