Idolatry is worshiping what is created, rather than the Creator.
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19-20
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21
What one hoards reveals where our hearts reside.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!”
Matthew 6:22-23
ἁπλοῦς = healthy
πονηρὸς = bad
Healthy = sincere and straightforward
Diseased = envious, grasping, a distorted way of viewing things
“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 6:24
Do not have other gods besides me.
Exodus 20:3
Shopping is now the number one leisure activity in America, usurping the place previously held by religion. Amazon.com is the new temple. The Visa statement is the new altar. Double clicking is the new liturgy. Lifestyle bloggers are the priests and priestesses. Money is the new god. There's a reason the only other god Jesus ever called out by name was Mammon - the god of money. Because it's a bad god and a lousy religion.
John Mark Comer, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
The practice of giving as an act of worship to God is our best defense against greed and hoarding as an act of worship to money.
How can you determine if something is a “treasure” in your life? Based on that standard, what do you treasure? Is it something tangible or intangible? Is it something you already have, or something you hope to attain?
What does it mean to “store up treasures for yourself,” either on earth or in heaven? Does your life tend to focus more on earthly treasures or heavenly ones?
Are you generous? What is it about the human condition that prevents us from sharing with our neighbor? Why is it difficult for you personally to choose generosity?
In Matthew 6:22-24 Jesus describes our eyes as either being “healthy” or “diseased”. How does money/wealth obscure our “vision”? How can we know whether or not we have “healthy eyes”?
Jesus says you cannot serve both God and money. Are you aware of any area in your life where you’ve placed wealth/possessions ahead of God? Discuss with your Life Group some healthy Biblical principles or practices (i.e. generosity, self restraint) you can implement in your lives that counteract the temptation to idolize money or possessions.
