Now, what’s the first word in verse 33, the first word of the very next verse? The word is ‘but.’ Now what that word tells you is that’s the subject change of the passage; that’s the turning point of this thought. It says now: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV) Now, this is what this means. It means verses 19 through 32 are an elaborate unpacking of another kingdom. Jesus is saying, “Don’t seek this kingdom; don’t live for this kingdom; don’t do what this kingdom does, no, no, no, no, no! You seek my kingdom.” Now, why does Jesus spend all of these verses unpacking, explaining, defining the kingdom of self? Well, because He knows that there’s nothing more seductive, nothing more attractive, nothing more deceptive to all of us this side of eternity than the claustrophobic little kingdom of one--called the kingdom of self. And it is that that makes this passage incredibly helpful for marriage. Let’s start again with a big helicopter view of this passage. In this passage, there are three treasure principles. Let’s start there; let me give you these three treasure principles. Here’s the first one. Everyone lives for some kind of treasure. Everyone lives for some kind of treasure. We’re value-oriented; we’re goal-oriented; we’re desire-oriented; we’re value-oriented; we’re importance-oriented human beings. We don’t live by instinct; we’re always living after some kind of treasure; there’s always something important to us. If I would watch the video of the last six weeks of your marriage, husbands and wives, what would I conclude is important to you? What are you really living for? Second principle--The thing that is your treasure will control your heart. The thing that is your treasure will control your heart. Now that’s a very, very important statement because the heart is the control center of your personhood. The thing that is your treasure will control your heart. What that actually means is--whatever is your treasure will control the thing that controls everything else--the heart. Your treasure will control the thing, the heart, that controls everything else. That’s a very significant statement. Third principle--What controls your heart will control your words and your behavior. What controls your heart will control your words and behavior. You could argue that everything you do and everything you say in your marriage is your attempt to get out of that marriage what’s important to you. Let me say that again. “Everything you do, everything you say in your marriage, is in fact your attempt to get out of that marriage what’s important to you.” Now, let’s talk about this word ‘treasure.’ A bit of a Sunday School illustration here-- I have in my hands a $20 bill. Now why is this piece of paper worth $20? It’s not intrinsic value. It’s not $20 worth of paper; that would be a whole stack of paper. It’s not $20 worth of ink; that would be a pail of ink. It’s assigned value. You would recognize that most of the treasures that grip us and control us are not intrinsic in their value. They are assigned value. That’s why the old saying says, “One man’s trash,” (I’ve done this all over the world, and no one has ever not been able to finish the saying.) “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” You and I assign things value; we give them their importance; and when we do, they begin to control us. Now, think about this. Once you’ve given this the value of 2,000 pennies, it begins to shape and control your life. The number of these you’re offered will determine whether you take that job or not. The number these you have will determine the size of your house, the neighborhood you live in, the kind of car that you drive, the cuisine that you eat, the clothes that you wear, the kind of vacations that you take, the hopes you have for retirement, the kind of healthcare that you have. It may sadly even determine the kind of people that you hang out with. Once you assign something value, it begins to shape and control your heart. You say, “Well Paul, what does this have to do with marriage?” Well, here’s the first principle that’s going to get us close to answering that question. This side of eternity, it’s very hard to keep what God says is important, important in your heart. Let me say that again, ”This side of eternity, it’s very hard to keep what God says is important, important in your heart.” What happens is things rise in levels of importance way beyond their true importance, and they begin to claim your heart; and when they claim your heart, they claim the way that you respond to the people that are around you.
Transcript: Session 5
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?
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