Bob Girard I Timothy 6:6-10 Matthew 6:19-24

This morning, we continue looking at the things we have turned to describe as “idols”. Our subject today is money. Money is necessary for us to have and use in today's world. We cannot do much without having it. God has given us talents and abilities to use in order to acquire money. In and of itself, it is not a bad thing. It becomes a problem only when or if we allow the gathering or hoarding of it to consume all of our time and efforts.

Today, money issues are in the forefront of our daily lives even if we do not want it to be. We are, in these tough economic times, forced to worry each day if we will have enough to pay the bills and be able to provide for ourselves and our families. You and I know as Christian men and women, God will provide a way for us to have our needs met.

Both of our scripture lessons this morning speak to us directly about money  how we should treat it, acquire it, use it. These passages also encourage us not to let it take over our lives and living. God did not give us the ability to earn money so that it would become the all in all in our lives.

The lesson from I Timothy describes how if we intend to live a Christian life, we should put wealth on the fringe of our living, not the center of it. Paul, in this letter, encourages us to see money as valuable but not as the ultimate value - as a worthwhile means to an end, not the end in itself.

We are encouraged to live seeking God's presence in our lives as our main goal. When we do this, we can live in the present time with our eyes looking to the future.

We are reminded that money can and will be seductive if we allow it. When this happens, we allow ourselves to move from earning what we need to an obsession to get more and more until we lose sight of how God intends for us to live.

The letter continues beyond the verses we read and reminds us of the uncertainty of money. We all have faced this reality very recently, no matter if we are working or retired. Through no fault of our own, what we had yesterday, we may not have today.

Paul also describes that what money we have, no matter how little or much, can have a more positive value depending on how we choose to use it. Most of us choose to share what we have. This is evident in our giving to the Church, here as well as in our outreach ministries.

The Gospel lesson describes money in a little different way but with the same message as found in Timothy. The verse begins with words we have heard many times, mostly as an invitation to bring our offering to God, “lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth&but lay up treasures in heaven.”

Jesus reminds us that the pressure of making a living can push away our desire to live a great and meaningful life if we become entrapped in only wanting to make more and more.

We are reminded that money can be destroyed, sometimes quickly. The words used to describe this are “moth and rust”. The moth in times past would get into clothing or carpeting and have a feast, leaving holes so that the item would fall apart. When we make money an idol, this can happen to us today. We end up spending it for things we do not need or holding onto it so tightly that it disappears and becomes useless. Rust attacks from the outside, making the things we really don't need but must have, lose value quickly. We want things but after we have them, in a short time, they become meaningless.

When people have great wealth, what often happens? Someone else desires to have it and manages to take it away from them, usually by hook or crook. Sometimes, however, it can be taken by disasters, natural or man-made. We know that inflation can shrink money quickly. Jesus is not saying that earning and saving money is a bad thing  only when we allow it to take over everything we do.

Jesus warns us that we cannot let money become the main object in our life. He reminds us that it does not really satisfy, that it is perishable, and that what we have will be left behind when we pass on.

Jesus very strongly reminds us that our heart follows our treasure. We are being reminded to invest in God's presence in our lives, use the money we earn for our needs for living each day as God intends. We are not to allow money to become an idol we worship and lose sight of our real lives.

By following the instructions we have heard this morning, we will be assured of living a full and meaningful life here and now and a fuller life when we arrive in heaven.

Let us not make an idol of money!