Treasures in Heaven

Matthew 6New International Version (NIV)

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Awhile ago Griffin started randomly saying “I love you.”  The first time I heard this it kind of caught me off guard then it almost made me tear up.  He does it a couple times a week at some of the most random times but I always need to hear it when he says it.  He doesn’t say it in front of a bunch of people and often times he says it in a whisper.  Hearing those words from his mouth almost seems like God Himself is whispering “I love you.”  Now, I am not the perfect parent and sometimes I can be too critical, especially of Griffin.  Cheyanne called me out on it the other day and at first I was upset but then I realized she was so right, as often is the case. And like their father, my kids aren’t perfect.  They can be a little stubborn and bullheaded, undoubtedly characteristics they inherited from their mother, but they are just kids.  And pretty darn good kids at that.  Cora wants to brush her own teeth, get herself dressed, and put her own shoes on.  She is independent and strong willed.  Everything a dad could hope for his daughter.  And Guthrie is the giggly, funny laughing, grunting and fun loving little brother.  One thing that I have been intentional with all of my kids about is saying that I love them even when they are in trouble.  I found it very important for them to know that I loved them even when they are misbehaving.  I know this to be true because God shows the same kind of mercy and grace to me as I continue to live an unperfect life.  I thought by being intentional in explaining my love, even when they are in trouble, would better illustrate to them what kind of love God has for us without saying those specific words.  Again, I am not a perfect parent and I am not out to make anyone feel guilty if they do not use this approach in their parenting style but I do believe when Griffin says those three little words, it is one of the many ways God rewards me and in three different times in our scripture for this evening it says, “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

As Christians we should do things that benefit others simply for the sake that it benefits others.  Right?  Doing what is right just to receive a reward isn’t the reason we should do things that help others.... right?  I mean, we should do them because we should.  We should do them because Jesus said to... right?  Historically, a lot of people will tell you that using rewards as a motive to do good has no place in the Christian life.  This way of thinking is very noble but I don’t think Jesus held that expectation of us. It is even pretty common in many of today’s religious communities that God neither punishes nor rewards.  There is some gray area here that needs explanation: God loves us no matter what. No behavior can change that love that God has for us but what is the wild-card, the free-willed choice, is whether or not we accept that love. And whether some Christians like the harsh reality of it or not, there is a reward for those who choose to make that choice. I can’t speculate when the cutoff for that choice may be but I think we are given that choice regularly. For example, if Griffin was misbehaving I would say nothing and when he does something so incredibly genuine and nice for someone else I would say nothing.  No reward or punishment.  It wouldn’t take him long to figure out that no matter how he act he is not getting my attention.  So, the question that inevitably comes up then is why isn’t the opposite true?  If he knows that I will tell him that I love him no matter what he does then it doesn’t matter how he behaves.  Isn’t some form of this question alway prevalent in Christianity?  If God loves us no matter what, can’t I just do whatever I want?  Barclay “To eliminate all rewards and punishments is really to say that in God there is neither justice nor love.”  No reward and no punishment means action is meaningless.  If my action of telling Griffin I love him was meaningless to him, especially in his limited ability to know and understand the world, he wouldn’t return the words.  Those words wouldn’t mean anything to him.  Don’t get me wrong, Griffin in no angel but those words must carry weight in his mind or he wouldn’t say them.  Griffin is neither directly punished or rewarded for saying those words to me and yet he says them. He says them because he means them.  He says them because in that moment that is how he feels.  He has come to feel that way because he has felt loved in many situations in his life.  Our relationship with God mirrors this.  I don’t praise God because I am fearful of what may happen if I don’t.  I praise God because I want to.  I praise God because I know He loves me. Punishments and rewards make life make sense.  Imagine if we all had to pay a traffic fine every time another motorist got caught speeding.  If I am obeying the traffic laws and still have to pay the fines alongside those who aren’t what reason do I have to obey the laws?  Punishments and rewards help us make sense of the world we live in.  

Jesus understood this notion.  But these rewards were not material in nature.  Most of society associates success with wealth and there are clergy who do the same.  Our scripture for this evening says God will reward us for the acts that have gone unseen.  Barclay “The great paradox of Christian reward is this -- the person who looks for reward, and who calculates that is is due to him, does not receive it; the person whose only motive is love, and who never thinks that he has deserved any reward, does, in fact, receive it.  The strange fact is that reward is at one and the same time the by-product and the ultimate end of the Christian life.”  In other words, if I forced Griffin to tell me he loves me then the reward of hearing those words is nowhere near as satisfying when they are truly heart-felt and organic.  Tonight we are beginning our Lenten journey and no passage does a better job of reminding us that whatever changes we attempt to make during Lent that we must do them for the right reasons.  Don’t give up pop and then act miserable and mopy because you did.  You can store up all the treasures and pats on the back here on earth but those fade and rust.  You want to store your treasures in heaven because your heart undoubtedly follows those treasures.  In closing, I never really knew Peyton Manning was a Christian until recently.  He said he didn’t make this public knowledge because his relationship with God was between him and God.  He didn’t do it for the newspapers or tv cameras.  He did it privately just as our scripture points to today.  Let us begin this season of Lent, together, not shouting from the rooftops but quietly, perhaps even secretly, growing closer to one another and to God.  We do so when the time comes we have gathered strength for when the time arise that we need it.  Lent is about growth.  My prayer is that we grow together.  Amen.