URC Daily Devotion Friday 14 August 2026

Theology and Money 

Matthew 6:19–21, 24 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;  but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Reflection

These familiar verses point at two great and simple truths: that money needs to be our servant, not our master; and that we are on a journey through this life and need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on our ultimate destination. So far, so good: I’m pretty sure you didn’t need me to tell you that. So I would like instead to share a thought about what Jesus does not say, or rather, how he might have said it slightly differently.

Jesus does not tell us in this brief passage how to store up treasures in heaven. For sure, we can get a fairly good idea about that from the rest of the Sermon on the Mount – but in this passage, those treasures are left hanging, so to speak, as if Jesus thinks that we don’t in fact need to be told. It challenges our comprehension. Yet if we turn round what Jesus actually says, it could help us understand more about what he means and more about ourselves.

Suppose Jesus were to have said, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.” If I’m wrong, then I have to trust in God’s mercy – but I’m fairly sure that I’m not taking a blasphemous liberty, and I hope you agree. It certainly helps me, because I’m sure that Jesus means that our hearts should be in heaven, and it would therefore follow that everything we treasure is framed in that Kingdom context.
And in this life, it might actually help us focus on where God is suggesting that we use our worldly treasures. If my heart lies with the body of Christ on earth, then that’s where my treasure will be too, whether it is my money or the gift of my time and talents.
 
Prayer

Lord, 
help me to hold fast 
to the knowledge that 
my life and heart belong with you. 
When I am distracted and dazzled 
by the possibilities that 
money and earthly treasures offer, 
be the still small voice in my head 
that guides me out of slavery 
and back into mastery over wealth 
of every sort. Amen.