Where Your Treasure Is

July 2, 2023 homily on Luke 12:22-34 by Pastor Galen

Playing the Stock Market

Around the time our kids were little, I happened to become curious about the stock market, and so I decided to invest in a few stocks for my kids, just for the fun of it. I had about $60 that I was willing to lose if things went sour, so I bought three shares in three random companies that were each selling stocks for around $20 per share.

After purchasing those stocks, several interesting things happened. One is that my ears perked up when I heard that the Dow Jones or Nasdaq has risen or fallen that day—something I had paid attention to before. The other thing that happened is that our family began to feel a small infinity for those three random companies. For my oldest daughter, I invested in Ford. Now, our family has never owned a Ford. But for several years after that, every time we would see a Ford on the road my daughter would proudly proclaim that that car had been produced by “her” company! And my middle daughter has always had a special affinity with Southwest Airlines (even though she has never flown on a Southwest airplane), simply because she owns a share in the company.

In other words, because of the tiny financial investment that I made, our family began to care about companies that we had never cared about before. We wanted to see them succeed, we celebrated when their stock prices rose and mourned when their stock prices dropped.

Because our money was there, a tiny little piece of our heart was there also.

Where Your Treasure Is…

In Luke 12:32-34, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

And then he says this rather startling statement: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Now why do I say that this is a startling statement? Most of us have heard this phrase so many times that it probably doesn’t phase us. 

But if we look more closely, we may be surprised to see here that Jesus is saying the opposite of what we might expect. You see, there’s a common saying in American society that goes like this, “Put your money where your mouth is.” In other words, if you believe strongly in something, back it up with your actions—your time, money or resources.

We have the mindset that if you really care about something you demonstrate your care and concern by giving towards that cause. Even in the Church, we sometimes implicitly say, “If you really care about Missions, then support missionaries! If you care about the poor, give your money to help those who are less fortunate than you. If there’s a cause that’s deeply on your heart, give financially to help that cause.”

But here in Luke 12:34, Jesus isn’t telling us to give to the things that we already care about. Rather, Jesus is saying that if you want to care about something, then invest in it with your resources, and your heart will follow. 

Just like our family began to care more about the financial well-being of the Ford Company and Southwest Airlines after we invested stock in them, so too will we begin to care more about the things of heaven, where God dwells and reigns, after we begin to invest our time, talents, and treasures in things that are eternal. 

Following Jesus’s line of thought, then, if you want to care about Missions, then find a missionary, and begin giving financially towards their missionary support, and you will become more interested in missions! Your ears will perk up when you hear news about the things that are happening in the country where they’re ministering, and you’ll be more likely to pray for them because of your financial investment in the eternal work of God’s Kingdom with which they are engaged.

Or, maybe you want to begin to care more about our community outreach and the people that we’re investing in and ministering to throughout the week, but you don’t really feel that deeply invested in what happens outside of Sunday mornings. Following Jesus’s line of reasoning, if you begin supporting the ministry of our church with your time, talents, and treasure, then you will (literally) feel more invested in the ministry of our church!

…there your heart will be also

Now some of you might say, but wouldn’t it feel disingenuous for me to give my time, money, or resources to a cause that I don’t care that much about? But the question that Jesus’s statement raises for us is not, what do you already care about? But rather, what do you want to care about? Not, where is your heart? But, where do you want your heart to be?

You see, if Jesus had told us to spend our money on things that we already care about, most of us would spend it on things related to ourselves. Why? Because most of us already care about ourselves. If you’re like me, you probably have a whole list of things you would buy if you had enough money. 

But if I’m honest with myself, most of the things that are on my wishlist are not essential. Most of those things are luxury items that might provide short-time happiness, but in the end would probably end up getting shoved in a corner where they would collect dust, or become obsolete. Most of the time when I spend money on myself it provides temporary satisfaction, but it is not a satisfaction that will last for eternity.

Treasures in Heaven

In contrast, Jesus wants us to spend our money and resources on things that will last, things that have eternal value. And maybe those are not things that you already care about, but if you put your treasure there, then your heart will follow.

This is one reason why we take up special offerings here in our church for the various ministries that our conference supports. It’s not just because there’s an expectation that every congregation will contribute (which there is), but it’s also because it helps us as a congregation to become more connected and invested in the greater work of God’s Kingdom. Next week, for example, we’ll be taking up a special offering for UMCOR: the United Methodist Committee on Relief. This is the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church that comes alongside those who suffer from natural or human-caused disasters – famines, hurricanes, wars, floods, fires and other events. UMCOR helps alleviate suffering and serves as a source of help and hope for the vulnerable. 

You may say, but that’s not a cause that’s deeply on my heart. Why should I give? But I believe Jesus would say, “All the more reason to give!” Because by giving to help those victims of natural and human-caused disasters, you will begin to care more deeply about what they are going through. Even a tiny investment in the work will help you be more invested in relief efforts around the world.

Do you want to care more about the poor in our city? Then give your time, money, or resources towards our support of the Food Pantry that we host here at our church. Keep a box in your own pantry where you can collect canned goods that you can give away. Give to a family in your neighborhood who does not have enough food to eat. You’ll not only begin to care more deeply for individuals in your community, but you’ll begin to care more about policies and procedures that affect those who are marginalized and impoverished in our city.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

An Eternal Investment

In closing, an accountant friend of mine once admitted to me that it’s actually really difficult to find really good, solid, safe, and secure places to invest our money. Banks are pretty secure, but they give very little interest in return. Mutual funds are pretty solid, but it is possible for them to lose value. Stocks have the potential to return great dividends, but they can also be risky. We can always store away our treasures in our homes, but then there’s the constant fear that they might get lost, stolen, or destroyed. As a society, we spend a lot of money trying to keep our treasures secure. But so often they become worn out, obsolete, or destroyed by moths or mildew when we don’t use them. 

But Jesus encourages his followers, rather than spending a lot of time worrying about how to keep our money and possessions safe and secure here on this earth, to instead invest our wealth in things that will last forever.

Writing in the 4th Century A.D., Archbishop of Constantinople John Chrysostom said that we should enjoy “luxury in moderation and [distribute] the rest to the stomachs of the poor.” Martin Luther King Jr. put it even more plainly when he said “Where can we store our goods?…We can store our surplus food free of charge in the shriveled stomachs of the millions of God’s children who go to bed hungry at night.”

When we do this—when we sell our possessions and give our alms to the poor, when we give our excess food to the hungry, when we invest in missions and in God’s Kingdom work in this world, we make purses that do not wear out, we store up unfailing treasures in heaven. The good news is that when we invest in the things of God’s eternal Kingdom, we never have to worry about our investment getting lost or stolen or ruined or decreasing in value!

And so this morning, may we commit to giving our time, talents, and treasures to things that matter, to things that are eternal. Our hearts will follow. For where our treasures are, there our hearts will be also.

Amen!